Troops from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras will now Stop Migrant flow at Borders

The Biden administration officials said that agreements have been reached to bolster troop support in 3 Central American countries. The new measures are designed to discourage the flow of migrants into the United States. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that agreements represent the latest attempts by President Joe Biden’s administration to mitigate the influx of migrants trying to enter the country through the US-Mexico border. Point to be noted that Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras have agreed to heighten troop presence along their borders as part of the agreements. Mexico will keep 10,000 troops along its southern border and it could lead to double the daily number of encounters between migrants and Mexican authorities. Jen Psaki said 1,500 military and police officials will patrol the country’s border with Honduras in Guatemala.

Honduras has committed 7,000 military and police officials to the cause. Psaki said, “The objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey and make crossing the borders more difficult. We worked with them to increase law enforcement at the border to deter the travel, which is a treacherous journey where many lose their lives”. She pointed out the threats many migrants face while traveling to the US and suggested additional law enforcement personnel could dissuade some from making that journey. The recent data from the US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) shows the number of encounters between CBP officials and migrants trying to cross the US-Mexico border exceeded 172,000 in March. The CBP said it was a 71% increase over the previous month. At least 19,000 of the migrant border officials encountered unaccompanied children in March.

However, Biden publicly discouraged migrants from traveling to the US in the wake of his January inauguration. He struck a friendlier tone toward immigrants during his presidential campaign than former President Donald Trump. Families and unaccompanied minors make up a significant chunk of the new migrants striving for entrance to the US. It is one of the reasons some immigration advocates are concerned about the new agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. The co-director of the nonprofit Latin America Working Group, Daniella Burgi-Palomino pointed to the rights qualifying migrants have when they are seeking asylum. Burgi-Palomino said, “We shouldn’t be talking about troops stationed on a border to stop families and children from their right under international law to seek protection. This is a militarized response to what, at the end of the day, is families and children who are in need of protection”.