During a regional conference on migratory flows taking place in Guatemala, Antony Blinken, the head of American diplomacy, called for sanctioning states that facilitate “illegal migration”. His speech comes as immigration is at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign in the United States.
The “new visa restriction policy targets people who knowingly provide transportation to those seeking to emigrate illegally to the United States,” he declared at the opening of the summit, in front of foreign ministers and senior officials. officials from around twenty countries who signed the Declaration on Migration and Protection, in Los Angeles at the Summit of the Americas in 2022.
Flows that affect all countries
According to Antony Blinken, illegal immigration affects all countries on the American continent, believing that it is “a truly historic challenge” that all countries must face. He did not hesitate to point the finger at Nicaragua, a country that favors the arrival of charter flights full of Asians and Africans who want to enter the United States. The head of American diplomacy stressed the importance of implementing all means “to expand avenues of legal migration as an alternative to irregular migration.”
Other officials also spoke on this subject. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo called for “facilitating safe, orderly, humane and regulated migration so that we can work towards solutions.” “We are convinced that migration is a multilateral challenge and it is from there that we must find common solutions,” Gloria de la Fuente, current Chilean deputy foreign minister, told AFP.
Addressing structural causes
On the side of Mexico, one of the most important crossing points for illegal immigrants to the United States, Alicia Barcena, Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed the importance of resolving structural problems. “Migration should be a choice and not an obligation. This is why our first priority is to tackle the structural causes,” she said. “If we all do it, countries of origin and destination, we can progress. This means tackling poverty, inequality, climate change, violence, and eliminating unilateral coercive measures,” she concluded.
Some 2.8 million illegal immigrants enter the United States each year. The majority of South American candidates pass through the Darién jungle, on the border between Colombia and Panama, then cross Central America to Mexico to reach the American border. Thousands of Central Americans are also leaving their countries to escape poverty and lack of opportunities.