Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
US, Mexico Agree on Tighter Immigration Policies at Border
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
May 3, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

U.S. and Mexican officials have agreed on new immigration policies meant to deter illegal border crossings while also opening up other pathways ahead of an expected increase in migrants following the end of pandemic restrictions next week.

Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall spent Tuesday meeting with Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other top officials, emerging with a five-point plan, according to statements from both nations.

Under the agreement, Mexico will continue to accept migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua who are turned away at the border, and up to 100,000 individuals from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador who have family in the U.S. will be eligible to live and work there.

Despite sharing a 1,951-mile border with the U.S., Mexico had been notably absent from the rollout last week of a fresh set of efforts, including the creation of hubs outside the United States where migrants could go to apply to legally settle in the U.S., Spain or Canada. The first centers will open in Guatemala and Colombia.

The COVID-19 restrictions have allowed U.S. officials to turn away tens of thousands of migrants crossing the southern border, but those restrictions will lift May 11, and border officials are bracing for a surge. Even with the restrictions, the administration has seen record numbers of people crossing the border, and President Joe Biden has responded by cracking down on those who cross illegally and by creating new avenues meant as alternatives to a dangerous and often deadly journey.

Mexico’s support is critical to any push by the U.S. to clamp down at the southern border, particularly as migrants from nations from as far away as Haiti are making the trek on foot up through Mexico, and are not easily returned back to their home countries.

With Mexico now behind the U.S., plus an announcement Tuesday that 1,500 active-duty U.S. troops are deploying south for administrative support, and other crackdown measures in place, border officials believe they may be able to manage overcrowding and other possible issues that might arise once the COVID-19 restrictions end.

Biden, who announced his Democratic reelection campaign a week ago, is trying to signal his administration is making a serious effort to tamp down the number of illegal crossings, which has been a potent source of Republican attacks. He also is trying to send a message to potential border crossers not to attempt the journey.

But the effort also draws potentially unwelcome comparisons to Biden’s Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, whose policies Biden frequently criticized. Congress, meanwhile, has refused to take any substantial immigration-related actions.

The U.S. will continue to turn away Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who cross illegally. Mexico said Tuesday it would continue to accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries that are making up a ballooning share of the overall illegal border crossings, with no easy way to quickly return migrants to their home countries.

According to data on asylum seekers in Mexico, people from Haiti remained at the top with 18,860 so far this year, higher than the total for the whole of 2022.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is accepting 30,000 people per month from the four nations for two years and offering them the ability to legally work, as long as they come legally, have eligible sponsors and pass vetting and background checks.

The administration also plans to swiftly screen migrants seeking asylum at the border itself, quickly deport those deemed as not being qualified, and penalize people who cross illegally into the U.S. or illegally move through another country on their way to the U.S. border.

1,500 Troops Deployed to Border

In addition, 1,500 active-duty personnel will be deployed to the border area for 90 days and will be pulled from the Army and Marine Corps. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will look to backfill those troops with National Guard or Reserve troops during that period, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. There are already 2,500 National Guard members at the border. They are not working in a law enforcement capacity, but their mere presence sends a message.

Then-President Trump deployed active-duty troops to the border to assist border patrol personnel in processing large migrant caravans, on top of National Guard forces that were already working in that capacity.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre downplayed any similarity between Biden’s immigration management and Trump’s use of troops during his term. “DOD personnel have been supporting CBP at the border for almost two decades now,” she said. “So this is a common practice.”

But some in Biden’s own party objected to the decision.

“The Biden administration’s militarization of the border is unacceptable,” said Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chair Bob Menendez, D-N.J. “There is already a humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere, and deploying military personnel only signals that migrants are a threat that require our nation’s troops to contain. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The Pentagon on Tuesday approved a request for troops made by the Department of Homeland Security, which manages the border.

As a condition for Austin’s previous approval of National Guard troops to the border through Oct. 1, Homeland Security had to agree to work with the White House and Congress to develop a plan for longer-term staffing solutions and funding shortfalls to maintain security and immigration processing without the use of Defense Department resources, Pentagon officials said.

As part of the agreement, the Pentagon has requested quarterly updates from Homeland Security on how it would staff its border mission without service members. It was not immediately clear if those updates have happened or if border officials will be able to meet their terms of the agreement — particularly under the strain of another expected migrant surge.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Jose Iglesias’ Sacrifice Fly in the 10th Lifts Padres Over Giants

DON'T MISS

Mets Beat Dodgers in 10 Innings Despite Ohtani’s 23rd Homer

DON'T MISS

Dutch Government Collapses After Far-Right Leader Wilders Quits Coalition

DON'T MISS

Gaza Ministry Says Israel Kills More Than 30 Aid Seekers, Israel Denies

DON'T MISS

Nonprofit Ship Sets Sail for Gaza After Drone Attack Setback

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Opens Mixed as Investors Await Trade Negotiations

DON'T MISS

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

DON'T MISS

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

DON'T MISS

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

UP NEXT

Trump Asks US Supreme Court to Allow Mass Federal Layoffs

UP NEXT

Trump Budget Proposes Closing Northeast Heating Oil Reserve

UP NEXT

Smoke Shops, City Hall Will Meet in Courtroom Showdown

UP NEXT

California Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton Vows to Repeal Transgender Athlete Law

UP NEXT

Tim Walz Urges Democrats to Fight Back Harder Against ‘Bully’ Trump

UP NEXT

How in the World Did Fresno End Up on Trump’s Sanctuary Cities List?

UP NEXT

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

UP NEXT

Medicaid Work Rules Could Leave a Million Californians With No Health Insurance

UP NEXT

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

UP NEXT

Newsom Tussles With Local Officials Over Homelessness

Gaza Ministry Says Israel Kills More Than 30 Aid Seekers, Israel Denies

31 minutes ago

Nonprofit Ship Sets Sail for Gaza After Drone Attack Setback

50 minutes ago

Wall Street Opens Mixed as Investors Await Trade Negotiations

52 minutes ago

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

54 minutes ago

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

58 minutes ago

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

16 hours ago

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

16 hours ago

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

17 hours ago

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

17 hours ago

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

17 hours ago

Jose Iglesias’ Sacrifice Fly in the 10th Lifts Padres Over Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — Jose Iglesias hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th to break a scoreless tie, scoring automatic runner Jake Cronenworth as the San...

2 minutes ago

2 minutes ago

Jose Iglesias’ Sacrifice Fly in the 10th Lifts Padres Over Giants

7 minutes ago

Mets Beat Dodgers in 10 Innings Despite Ohtani’s 23rd Homer

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders speaks to the media following his decision to leave the governing coalition, in The Hague, Netherlands, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
16 minutes ago

Dutch Government Collapses After Far-Right Leader Wilders Quits Coalition

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Gaza City, June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
31 minutes ago

Gaza Ministry Says Israel Kills More Than 30 Aid Seekers, Israel Denies

Photo of climate activist Greta Thunberg
50 minutes ago

Nonprofit Ship Sets Sail for Gaza After Drone Attack Setback

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
52 minutes ago

Wall Street Opens Mixed as Investors Await Trade Negotiations

Harvey Weinstein appears for his retrial at the Manhattan criminal court, New York, U.S., May 30 2025. Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
54 minutes ago

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the annual ceremony at the eve of Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers (Yom HaZikaron) at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, 29 April 2025. (ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS)
58 minutes ago

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend