U.S. seeks Canadian help to ease crowding at U.S.-Mexico border
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[January 11, 2023]
By Lizbeth Diaz
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States is looking to Canada to help
cope with the growing number of migrants at the United States' border
with Mexico, a State Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
A possible trilateral agreement with Canada, the United States and
Mexico was on the table as the three countries met in Mexico for the
North American Leaders' Summit, spokewsoman Kristina Rosales told
Reuters.
The agreement would help thousands immigrate through legal channels,
without having to put their lives at risk at the hands of human
traffickers, Rosales said.
"Canada has its own specific programs for refuge and migration," Rosales
said, telling Reuters ahead of the trilateral talks that the countries
would discuss Canada's involvement.
No such agreement was made public immediately after the talks between
U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ended on Tuesday.
U.S. authorities detained 2.2 million migrants at the border with Mexico
in fiscal year 2022, a record not seen since World War II.
Rosales also said the United States is considering including more
nationalities to enter the country by air while expelling those crossing
over land under an order known as Title 42.
The order, launched in October for Venezuelans, was expanded to Cuban,
Nicaraguan and Haitian migrants last week.
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U.S. President Joe Biden attends a joint
news conference with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at the conclusion of the
North American Leaders' Summit in Mexico City, Mexico, January 10,
2023. REUTERS/Henry Romero
Encounters of Venezuelans at the border dropped about 90% in
December, and similar drops are expected for other migrants in the
program.
"If we see that we have to increase the number of those eligible for
humanitarian parole per month and include other nationalities, we
will consider it," Rosales added.
Mexico's Lopez Obrador said Tuesday the nation "celebrated" the U.S.
decision to award humanitarian parole and that he believed "that
this plan will be extended to benefit other countries."
The United States has in recent months seen a significant increase
in migrants reaching the country by sea from Caribbean countries
such as Cuba and Haiti. Rosales said those who arrived in the United
States by sea "unfortunately will not be able to qualify" for
humanitarian parole.
Rosales added that the U.S. government is seeking to broaden legal
methods of immigrating and sway potential migrants from paying human
traffickers.
"We want to broaden the legal channels so that people can apply
directly from their cell phones," Rosales said.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Kylie Madry. Editing by Gerry
Doyle)
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