Status: 05.01.2023 6:15 p.m
With a visit to the border with Mexico, US President Biden wants to address the politically sensitive issue of migration. Shortly before, the government announced new measures against illegal immigration.
Ahead of a planned visit by US President Joe Biden to the southern border, the US government is enacting new measures against illegal immigration from Mexico. From now on, up to 30,000 migrants per month from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua who meet certain requirements will be allowed to enter the United States legally – and live and work there for two years. This was announced by high-ranking employees of the US government.
At the same time, migrants who come to the USA via other routes via Panama and Mexico are to be deported. Mexico has agreed to accept up to 30,000 people from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba.
Biden’s first trip to the border
Biden is scheduled to visit the border town of El Paso, Texas next Sunday. It would be his first trip to the border since taking office. Biden said he hopes to see “what’s going on (at the border)”. He also wanted to comment on the issue of border security.
His government has been criticized time and again for the high number of migrants who come to the United States illegally via Mexico. The situation at the border is particularly tense at the moment.
In December 8000 people a day
In December, senior government officials said an average of 8,000 people a day crossed the US southern border. The government hopes that the introduction of the new measures will significantly reduce the number of migrants trying to cross the border irregularly.
Anyone who has a sponsor in the USA and has passed the relevant background checks can apply for an entry permit online and travel to the USA by plane, it said. Such a program for migrants from Venezuela has significantly reduced the number of Venezuelans crossing the border irregularly, government officials reported.
The Biden administration has so far appeared to avoid the complex issue of illegal immigration, which has posed insurmountable problems for many presidents. Republicans accuse Biden of taking a lax course on migration policy and securing the border with Mexico. Others still find his policies too harsh.