WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The United States has cut a deal for Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to reinforce their borders in a bid to quash a wave of migration to the United States, the White House said Monday.
“The objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey and make crossing the borders more difficult,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
The three countries will “increase law enforcement at the border to deter the travel.”
The surge in illegal immigrants and asylum seekers — many of them children hoping to be united with families already inside the United States — has become a major stumbling block for President Joe Biden’s new administration.
Biden took office vowing to pursue humane policies toward asylum seekers but his government is widely seen as struggling to keep control of the situation as the influx overwhelms existing border infrastructure.
The idea of getting countries to the south of the United States to deploy their military to stop migrants before they ever reach the US border was at the center of Donald Trump’s tough crackdown.
Biden advisor Tyler Moran told MSNBC news on Monday that the agreements with the governments would mean “more troops on their own border. Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala have all agreed to do this.
“That not only is going to prevent the traffickers and the smugglers and cartels that take advantage of the kids on their way here, but also to protect those children,” Moran said.