2023-10-11 17:20:51
The president considered that these sites should be in the countries of origin.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador objected to the United States’ request to establish migrant processing centers in Mexico, similar to those agreed with neighboring Guatemala to receive foreigners while they process their applications for temporary work and refuge visas.
When rejecting Washington’s proposal, López Obrador said in his morning conference that he was in favor of processing centers operating in the countries where migrants come from, and said that the issue will be discussed at the summit to be held on October 22. in the southern town of Palenque, state of Chiapas, where the participation of the presidents and foreign ministers of 11 Latin American countries is expected.
“We do not want migrant sites to be established in our country waiting for these temporary visas to be given,” said the president, adding that he will speak regarding this issue with his counterparts from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. , Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize, to define a regional proposal.
Lopez Obrador announced that he wants the processing centers to be installed “where migration originates, where migrants originate from,” so that they do not have to transit through Mexico on their route to the United States.
U.S.-funded migrant processing centers have been established in Guatemala to receive foreigners who want to apply for work, family reunification or refuge visas.
The centers are part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing the large number of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean arriving in the United States.
Eventually, applicants with scheduled appointments will be received in offices that will open in eight locations in Guatemala.
The growing flow of migrants has caused tensions between the United States and Mexico.
The Mexican government sent a diplomatic note to the United States on Monday complaining regarding the closure of some cargo transportation border crossings due to the large number of migrants crowded at the border.
In the diplomatic note, the Mexican government asked Washington to restore the commercial flow that has been interrupted by the closure of cargo operations on the Córdoba-Las Américas bridge since September 18 and the closure of the Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass bridge since September 20, as well as the closure of the El Chaparral-San Ysidro pedestrian crossing since September 14.
After a dialogue process, the partial reopening of the commercial area of the Córdoba-Las Américas bridge was achieved starting Tuesday.
Mexico also expressed concern regarding Texas’ ongoing truck inspections, which have caused long delays at border crossings.
López Obrador said Monday that Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to apply additional inspections to trucks was “very irresponsible” and politically motivated.
Mexico’s National Chamber of Cargo Transportation said Sunday that 19,000 trucks were delayed at the border. The freight association said the delayed trucks were carrying regarding $1.9 billion in freight.
Between August and September, irregular migration in Mexico had a jump of 20%, going from 225,311 to 269,780 people, the government reported on Monday.
Mexican authorities have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by the massive arrival of thousands of migrants who are using all means of transportation, including trains, to reach the southern border of the United States.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena reported that in the middle of last week, 9,964 encounters with migrants were recorded in one day on the northern border of Mexico and another 4,474 on the southern border.
Given the growing flow of foreigners, the National Migration Institute asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin diplomatic efforts so that the governments of Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba and Nicaragua accept the “assisted return via air of their compatriots.”
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