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Promoting Safe and Legal Migration
In June of 2022, President Joe Biden convened nearly two dozen countries to launch the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. “In doing so, we recognized together the need to strengthen regional cooperation to ensure safe, orderly, humane and regular migration, and to help people live ... in their countries of origin,” declared Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a recent UNGA side event.
“Together, we're making it easier for migrants already in-country to obtain legal status. For example, governments throughout the region are helping Venezuelans acquire lawful residency status. Colombia, Ecuador, Peru are at the forefront, advancing measures to fully incorporate migrants into their receiving communities and economies.”
“We're also promoting secure migration pathways to dissuade individuals from taking perilous journeys to our borders,” explained Secretary Blinken:
“Here in the United States, we've led one of the largest expansions of lawful migration, including through new humanitarian family reunification, parole processes and raising our annual target for refugee resettlement to 125,000, while also strengthening enforcement measures to discourage irregular migration.”
The Safe Mobility Initiative equips individuals in Latin America with accurate information and an online process to apply for lawful entry into the United States, among other countries.
The United State is also working to disrupt human trafficking and smuggling through visa restrictions and financial sanctions. “We're cracking down on criminal networks, and we're applying similar measures against companies that charter flights and boats to facilitate dangerous irregular migration routes,” said Secretary Blinken.
Under Vice President Harris, the Central America Forward Initiative has generated over $5.2 billion in private sector investments in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Secretary Blinken announced the United States will additionally invest more than $685 million across Latin America and the Caribbean.
“These new funds include nearly $369 million to aid refugees, vulnerable migrant populations and host countries, as well as $228 million in emergency food assistance for Venezuelan migrants and displaced persons in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Our assistance also provides $10 million to the World Bank's global concessional finance facilities work in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
“I'm confident that together we can move toward a hemisphere where migration is a choice made freely pursued lawfully,” said Secretary Blinken, “and where ... all people can live with security, dignity and opportunity.”