US to open Latin America migration centres, expedite deportations

The United States will open immigration processing centres in Colombia and Guatemala and expedite the deportations of those seeking to irregularly enter the country, as officials prepare for an increase in border crossings following the expiration of a controversial COVID-era rule. For his part, Sunil Varghese, policy director at International Refugee Assistance Project, said the expansion of pathways for asylum seekers to enter the US was “long overdue”. Mayorkas said those agents “will interview applicants for the US refugee admissions programme and provide the swift processing of a greater number of individuals”. “The point here is to do the following: to take advantage of the fact that international partners have physical locations in a number of countries where they’re doing very very important work and to be able to bring some of our own officers and experts into these centres so that people can come to them and explore whether they’re eligible for one of the various legal pathways to come to this country,” Blinken said. Mayorkas on Thursday also said the administration has “no plans” to resume the controversial practice of detaining families who crossed the border, which Biden had ended upon taking office amid vows to take a more “humane” approach to migration.