Kristie Canegallo, an official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced this Monday, May 6, the United States Government initiative called the Labor Mobility Alliance of the Americas to connect labor demand and supply.
The announcement was made at the event “Meeting on Labor Migration and Regional Development: Perspectives for Matching Labor Supply and Demand”, held this Monday followingnoon in Guatemala, as a prelude to the Ministerial Meeting of the Declaration of Los Angeles on Migration and Protection, which will take place this Tuesday the 7th in the country.
Michael Camilleri, acting deputy administrator of the Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), explained that the initiative consists of connecting the existing labor demand and supply in the countries of the Americas, since some have an oversupply of workers, many of whom wish to work temporarily abroad, while others face the problem of labor shortages. So it’s regarding facilitating those connections.
“This initiative is built on the good experience and what we have achieved so far with Central America, which in the last 3 years has almost tripled the number of workers who have been able to travel to the United States and other countries. The idea is to expand this model to also benefit other nations,” he indicated.
Easy implementation
The executive explained that the project does not require new legislation, but is within the existing programmatic and diplomatic capabilities of USAID, the White House and the State Department, so it can begin immediately. Although there are certain funds that might be used to support this, which would have to be notified to Congress, he mentioned.
When asked when it might be implemented in Guatemala, he stated that this is a model country for what they want to promote in the rest of the region and that it will continue to benefit from this initiative.
“The work we have been able to do in Guatemala with the Ministry of Labor is the envy of many others because they see that this has allowed thousands more Guatemalans to travel to the United States and take advantage of opportunities, since there is a transparent and free system. Employers can come to Guatemala and make a connection with the workers they need and the ministry facilitates those types of connections to fill vacancies,” he explained.
Regarding the number of people who might benefit from this initiative in Guatemala and the rest of the countries, Camilleri said that they do not have precise numbers but the trend has been, for example, to triple the number of Guatemalans who travel with temporary employment and there is hope to continue to increase, so it will be important to expand the visa categories.
Marcela Escobari, special assistant to the president and coordinator of the Los Angeles Declaration at the National Security Council, participated in the closing of the event, mentioning the manpower needs that countries are experiencing and the importance of this initiative.
The Los Angeles Declaration was signed in 2022 and includes 21 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean. The United States provides US$314 million dollars for humanitarian support through the United States Agency for Development (USAID) and the Regional Program on Migration (PRM), according to the agreements of the Declaration, among other types of aid that They were supported by the other nations.
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