BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia and the United States are set to hold a conference in the first quarter of next year to discuss measures to guarantee the rights of migrants heading to the US border, a new study suggests.
Colombia has become an important transit area for many migrants from Latin America trying to reach the United States by crossing the dangerous jungle of the “Darien gap” that connects Colombia to Panama, before continuing their journey through the United States .
The phenomenon is a problem for the entire region, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters in Bogotá.
“This is a regional challenge and therefore requires a regional solution,” Alejandro Mayorkas said in a joint statement with Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva after a meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
“We must respect the humanitarian rights of people seeking shelter and, at the same time, we must also respect the laws of our respective countries. The laws of our respective countries,” added Alejandro Mayorkas.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is struggling to cope with record numbers of migrants trying to cross the border into Mexico.
In November, a US federal judge overturned an executive order that went into effect in March 2020 that allowed authorities to quickly deport migrants caught crossing the border without giving them time to seek asylum.
(Report Luis Jaime Acosta, French version Matthieu Protard)
