Mexico confirms agreement with U.S. to attend to migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed on Tuesday an agreement with the US for that nation to accept asylum applications from migrants who are already in Mexico, which in turn will establish a “multipurpose international space” in the south of the country to serve foreigners.

“Our Secretary of Foreign Relations, Alicia Barcena, will go to Chiapas this week where she will be looking for job options, and training opportunities for migrants. At the same time, make possible that those who want to can do their paperwork to get to the United States,” said the president.

Lopes Obrador referred in his morning press conference to the announcement made by the White House last Friday, when it indicated that the United States will accept asylum requests from nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who are already in Mexico waiting to cross into US territory.

The announcement results from an agreement that comes days after a meeting in Mexico City between a US delegation and Lopez Obrador, according to a statement from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

“In the case of the United States, (its commitment) is that those who are in Mexico who could not do their paperwork in their places of origin can do it in Mexico to go to the United States. Yes, that possibility is going to open up for those who are already here,” said Lopez Obrador.

The president recognized Mexico’s commitment to create a space in the south of the country to offer new asylum and employment options to migrants.

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He further indicated that in this space “there could be mobile consulates (of the United States) for those who have not done their paperwork and who are here southeastern Mexico.”

Still, he evaded further details about the exact location and opening date of the space, promising more information in “two or three months.”

“We are looking at which is the best option, but it is not only the procedure. What is being considered is of course offering shelters, food, medical attention, and also job opportunities, because now our country has the possibility for offering jobs,” he said.

The agreement is part of the immigration changes in the United States this year, such as offering asylum to nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela, and the expiration of Title 42, a measure that immediately expelled migrants on the grounds of the pandemic.

“The United States has already established a mechanism to carry out procedures and to enter that country legally that did not exist before. That must be recognized; it is a proposal by President Joe Biden,” said Lopez Obrador.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times.