US President Joe Biden on Friday led a pledge by 20 nations in the Americas to work together on migration, seeking to step up action on a growing political priority at a summit beset by disputes.
The weeklong Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles wound down with promises by Biden to do more, and a joint declaration on migration that largely formalized existing arrangements rather than setting new policy.
The declaration called for “safety and dignity of all migrants” but also greater cooperation by law enforcement.
Biden — who has promised a more humane approach than his predecessor Donald Trump — announced a $65 million effort to support documented seasonal work on US farms. But we need to halt the dangerous and unlawful ways people are migrating,” Biden said with regional leaders by his side.
“Unlawful migration is not acceptable and we will secure our borders including through innovative, coordinated actions with our regional partners
The effort was met by praise by the top diplomat of Mexico, the critical US partner on migration due to the 3,145-kilometer (1,954-mile) shared border, even though Mexico’s president conspicuously boycotted the summit.
Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the summit’s results were “very positive,” including Biden’s calls for economic cooperation and the “regional approach on migration. Trump’s Republican Party has seized on the issue ahead of congressional elections, denouncing migrants from developing countries and accusing Biden of failing to act effectively.
The State Department announced that the United States would resettle 20,000 verified refugees from the Americas over the next two years — a threefold increase but a far cry from the 100,000 Ukrainian refugees that Biden, mostly with Republican support, has pledged to take in.
The United States also announced $314 million in new funding to support some of the more than six million Venezuelans who have fled their country, whose economy has been in freefall.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Zodwa Wabantu blocked from twerking by the ancestors
Event organizer Deborah “Dee” Dlamini is gatvol with entertainer Zodwa Wabantu. She told the publication that the dancer didn’t show up to her event in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni.
This as she was booked to perform at the Men’s Cave event, held at The Farm Guest Lodge on Saturday, 4 June. Learn more
