The United States Government announced in a press conference this Wednesday, February 21, 2024, the entry into force of a new visa restriction policy for carriers that facilitate irregular migration from Latin American countries to the United States.
The measure targets owners, managers and senior officials of land, sea and air transport (charter) companies that facilitate irregular migration flows from the region to the United States.
As Eric Jacobstein, assistant secretary of state for Central America in the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, explained, the measure will begin with a dialogue with regional partners and carrier executives. The latter will be the first to face the consequences if they continue to encourage irregular migration flows.
“We start with the dialogue. We are talking to our partners in the region about the new policy. The idea regarding charter flights is that many of them, especially those flying from Cuba to Managua, are not for tourism but for tourism [transportar] People attempting to immigrate irregularly to the United States. “That is why we evaluate each charter flight or transport company to determine whether it facilitates irregular migration,” the undersecretary explained.
Jacobstein also mentioned in his remarks that immigration authorities are aware that there are users on social networks who advertise the services of transport companies. He added that they were assessing the role of social networks in implementing the new policy, although he did not specify whether users would face consequences.
The measure that came into force today takes as a precedent the sanctions announced on November 21, 2023, targeting owners, managers and senior officials of companies operating charter flights to Nicaragua. The sanctions were in response to the increase in companies offering services to migrants of various nationalities to initiate irregular migration from the Central American country to the United States.
Emily Mendrala, deputy assistant to the president and senior advisor for migration and southwest border coordination, explained that “the Biden administration has a three-part strategy to address the regional migration phenomenon” that includes “a historic increase in legal, safe and orderly migration.” migration routes, joint efforts with international partners and a focus on law enforcement” in line with the country’s values.
Regarding legal pathways, Mendrala explained that President Biden has led the “most significant increase in legal and safe migration pathways in decades” (he mentioned family reunification programs and the expansion of the refugee admission program, among other things).
Blas Núñez-Neto, Undersecretary of State for Border Policy and Immigration at the Department of Homeland Security, highlighted the US government's concerns about the presence and leadership of organized crime in migration flows in the hemisphere and urged migrants to choose regular routes.
As the Undersecretary of State reported, since the lifting of the public health emergency in the United States on May 12, 2023, more than 550,000 migrants of various nationalities found at the border with Mexico have been repatriated (including more than 90,000 units relatives). .
“The numbers are records in the time we have observed. Those who wish to enter the United States and cross our border illegally will face these consequences [repatriación]. We ask them not to do this and instead use the legal channels and avenues that we have set up for those who have patience and can do it without having to resort to organized crime or coyotes,” said Blas Núñez-Neto.
To date, more than 357,000 nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela have been paroled on humanitarian grounds. The CBP One mobile application has now enabled the entry of more than 459,000 migrants across the border with Mexico.
The press conference reiterated that those who choose to migrate irregularly to the United States will face consequences. In this regard, Mendrala assured that legal means would be implemented to secure the US borders and “repatriate people who have no legal basis to remain in the country.”
The new measures to reduce irregular migration also entail greater risks and costs for migrants. With limited access to transport companies, migrants may face higher fares to move around the region or be forced to rely on independent transport companies, increasing their exposure to additional risks (exploitation, violence or abuse).