Today, President Biden joins leaders from across the Western Hemisphere in presenting the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection at the Summit of the Americas. The Declaration aims to mobilize the entire region around bold actions that will transform our approach to migration management in the Americas. The Declaration is organized around four key pillars: (1) stability and assistance to communities; (2) extension of legal avenues; (3) human migration management; and (4) coordinated emergency response.
In preparation for the Summit, the United States and other countries in the region developed a set of bold new results related to migration.
Pillar I: stability and assistance to communities
Addressing the unprecedented migration crisis in the region requires us to rethink how we view multilateral financing for development and how we manage tensions over our economies. Globally, international financial institutions (IFIs) and development aid have targeted poor and low-income countries, designations that no longer apply to most of Latin America and the Caribbean. The need for economic stabilization and support is especially important in countries hosting more than six million refugees and migrants.
- Belize will implement in August 2022 a program to regularize Central American and CARICOM migrants living illegally in the country for a certain period of time.
- Colombia’s leadership in responding to Venezuelan migrants and refugees with forward-looking policies based on solidarity, humanitarian aid and protection: Colombia reaffirms its commitment to fully implement its announcement of temporary protection status for Venezuelan migrants and refugees displaced in their territory. Since June 10, it has issued regularization documents to more than 1.2 million people, allowing them to work legally, access public and private services, integrate successfully and contribute to the economy and society of Colombia. Colombia also reaffirms its commitment to grant regularization permits to a total of 1.5 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees by the end of August 2022.
- Costa Rica is committed to planning the renewal of the special regime of temporary supplementary protection category for migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, who have arrived before March 2020, conditional on obtaining the necessary financial resources, and to convene a group international work to ensure additional direct support and financial resources to support its implementation.
- Ecuador issued an executive decree that creates a path to regular immigration status for Venezuelans who regularly enter the country through an official port of entry, but who are currently out of status. This process includes unaccompanied or separated migrant children and a migratory amnesty. It contemplates the contribution of identification documents for the regularization process, taking into account the current difficulties that Venezuelan citizens suffer. It intends to expand this process to include all Venezuelans.
- The United States will provide additional US support for a migration response mechanism. Working with Congress, we will provide an additional $ 25 million to the Global Concession Funding Fund (GCFF) hosted by the World Bank to prioritize Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Costa Rica in their regularization programs recently announced by in the populations of migrants and displaced refugees who reside. within their respective countries. The new funding would support the registration process, the expansion of social services, integration programs and benefit the host communities that have generously opened their doors to the most vulnerable.
- The United States will announce $ 314 million in new PRM and USAID funds for stabilization efforts in the Americas. USAID and the State Department’s Office for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) will announce more than $ 314 million in new funding for humanitarian and development assistance for vulnerable refugees and migrants across the hemisphere. This includes support for socio-economic integration and humanitarian aid to Venezuelans in 17 countries in the region.
Pillar II: Legal Routes and Protection
Expanding legal avenues for protection and opportunity is at the heart of efforts to address irregular migration to the Americas humanely. The goal is to change the way people migrate. Countries in the region have strategically set priority legal programs with the main reasons for migrating: (1) jobs; (2) protection; and (3) family reunification.
- Resettlement Initiative and Canada’s Complementary Routes: Canada is hosting a record number of refugees and is in line with Canada’s immigration level plans. As part of these growing efforts, Canada will increase the resettlement of refugees from America and aims to accommodate up to 4,000 people by 2028, providing lasting solutions to a number of refugees in the region. Canada acknowledges the important support of UNHCR and IOM in the region. Canada will also seek to promote its usual itineraries in the region to help provide opportunities, even for those in vulnerable situations. For example, Canada will move forward with advocacy and recruitment efforts related to its Francophone Immigration Program that can provide opportunities for French-speaking newcomers, such as skilled and experienced Haitians, some of whom may have been displaced due to the pandemic.
- Canada is addressing root causes and investing $ 26.9 million, in 2022-2023, in additional funding for capacity-building related to migration and protection in the Americas. This funding supports projects in Latin America and the Caribbean focused on supporting the socio-economic and labor integration of refugees and migrants; improving border and migration management systems; contribute to safeguarding the rights of migrants, refugees and host communities; promoting gender equality and inclusive economic growth; and preventing and combating migrant and human trafficking.
- Canada expects to host more than 50,000 agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean by 2022. Canada is a strong advocate for labor mobility and continues to actively promote regular migration routes, including temporary foreign worker programs that respond to the labor needs of employers, to address our labor market gaps and as alternatives to irregular migration.
- Guatemala approves new legislation to promote legal labor migration programs. On June 1, the Guatemalan government passed new legislation to encourage fair recruitment and expand legal avenues for its citizens. The legislation exempts airline tickets from value-added and departure tax for those traveling on temporary work contracts abroad obtained through the Ministry of Labor. The new initiative is part of a broader set of Guatemalan programs and policies to expand access to labor migration programs, ensure ethical recruitment, and promote the legal protection of Guatemalan workers.
- Mexico will expand its existing Border Worker Card program to include between 10,000 and 20,000 additional beneficiaries. This program allows for greater labor mobility to meet the needs of employers in Mexico, promote economic development in Central America, and offer an alternative to irregular migration.
- Mexico will launch a new temporary work program that offers job opportunities in Mexico for between 15,000 and 20,000 Guatemalan workers per year. The Mexican government intends to expand eligibility for this program to include Honduras and El Salvador in the medium term.
- Mexico will integrate 20,000 recognized refugees into the Mexican labor market over the next three years. With UNHCR support, the program would connect people with legal status as recognized refugees in Mexico with job opportunities in regions with labor shortages. A joint initiative with UNHCR, the private sector and the Mexican government, both refugees and businesses will benefit from successful integration into Mexico’s formal labor market.
- The United States will launch the development of a $ 65 million US Department of Agriculture (USDA) pilot program to support U.S. farmers who hire agricultural workers under the H-2A program. In collaboration with other agencies, the USDA is exploring a multi-year pilot program funded by the President’s U.S. Rescue Plan to provide grants to agricultural entrepreneurs who hire agricultural workers from North Central American countries under the seasonal visa program H -2A and accept additional protections for the benefit of both U.S. and H-2A workers. The pilot will promote the resilience of our agricultural and food supply chain and three key priorities of the Administration: (1) drive the U.S. economic recovery by addressing the current labor shortage in agriculture; (2) reduce irregular migration by widening legal channels; and (3) improving the working conditions of U.S. agricultural workers and immigrants. The USDA will enter into a cooperation agreement with the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), which will work with relevant stakeholders, including farmers, agricultural workers, advocates for agricultural workers and unions, to ensure that the agency benefits from a wide range of views in the design of this program.
- The United States will provide 11,500 H-2B seasonal worker visas for North Central and Haitian nationals. To address labor shortages in key sectors of the U.S. economy and reduce irregular migration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) made available 11,500 H-visas. Additional 2B in late May. These visas are intended for nationals of the countries of North Central America and Haiti for this fiscal year. This is combined with the new supervisory provisions of the employer.
- The United States will launch a new Fair Procurement Practice Guide for …