US opening new migrant centers in Latin America ahead of expected surge

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Biden administration announced Thursday that the US will be opening new migrant processing centers in Latin America to help stymy an expected surge in immigration coming from the region next month.

The new plan is being enacted ahead of the May 11 expiration of controversial deportation rules from the Trump administration known as Title 42 that expedited the removal of migrants from the US who seek asylum.

The processing centers are slated to be opened in Colombia and Guatemala, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked them for their "role as excellent partners of the United States in these efforts."

The new facilities, he said, represent a "new and innovative approach that does right by people who want to migrate and that enhances security and stability in the region."

"These centers will be operated by international organization partners and improve qualified individuals' access to accelerated refugee resettlement processing, family reunification, and labor pathways in the United States," he told reporters at the State Department.

"These centers will take a usually important step to prevent people from making the dangerous journey to the border by providing a much safer legal option to migrate that they can pursue in and from their own countries," he added.

Several thousand migrants are expected to be processed at the sites each month, and the US is working with other nations to establish additional regional processing centers.

Under US law, any migrant can claim asylum in the US whether or not they come to the country through a legal port of entry. But US President Joe Biden has faced still criticism from Republicans over his handling of immigration, prompting his administration to adopt a tough-nosed approach to the issue.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, warned that migrants "who do not use our lawful pathways" starting May 12 will be placed "in expedited removal proceedings."

"Those who arrive at our border and do not have a legal basis to stay will have made the journey, often having suffered horrific trauma and having paid their life savings to the smugglers, only to be quickly removed," he said, vowing to have them removed within "a matter of days."

In addition, individuals who are found to have crossed the US border illegally will be subjected to a ban of at least five years on US entry, and possible criminal prosecution on additional attempts to cross the border illegally, Mayorkas said.

The US has been working to establish new processes ahead of the end of Title 42 for over a year-and-a-half, but Mayorkas said that despite the efforts the country is nonetheless expecting a sharp increase in arrivals on the southern border fueled by disinformation spread by smugglers that the border will be fully open.

"The smugglers’ propaganda is false. Let me be clear. Our border is not open, and will not be open after May 11," he said.