U.S. to Set up Processing Centers for Migrants in Latin America

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The Biden administration is opening “processing centers” in Central and South American countries that will let migrants apply to come to the U.S. legally as part of an effort to drive down illegal migration across the U.S.-Mexico border, three senior administration officials told reporters on Thursday.

The first processing centers will be operated by international organizations partnering with the U.S. and opened in Guatemala and Colombia in the coming weeks, the officials said.

“Individuals will speak to specialists to be screened and if eligible…they’ll be referred for refugee resettlement or other lawful pathways such as parole programs, family reunification or existing labor pathways,” said a senior administration official. The centers may also provide migrants with social services or pathways to resettle in Canada, Spain or a country in their region.

The new centers are part of the administration’s strategy to expand the number of legal pathways to the U.S. while making it harder for migrants to claim asylum at the U.S. border.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will announce the processing centers as well as other details of the administration’s plan to work with other countries to stem “irregular migration” throughout the Western Hemisphere in a press conference on Thursday.

As Covid restrictions known as Title 42 are set to lift on May 11, federal immigration officials as well as local shelter operators are worried the U.S. does not have the funding or capacity to deal with the expected surge of over 10,000 border arrivals per day.