LOS ANGELES — The Biden administration wants countries along a dangerous migration route through South and Central America to help address the unprecedented flow of migrants at the southern border with Mexico by committing to expand their asylum systems and enforce their borders under a new regional partnership announced Friday during the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
The administration secured the support of 18 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, including Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which are some of the main emitters of migrants to United States. Mexico also signed even though its president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, snubbed the gathering after the U.S. opted not to invite certain nondemocratic leaders. Canada signed the declaration as well, bringing the total number of countries to 20.
“We are committed to protecting the safety and dignity of all migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and stateless persons, regardless of their migratory status, and respecting their human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the countries, including the United States, said in the declaration. “We intend to cooperate closely to facilitate safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration and, as appropriate, promote safe and dignified returns, consistent with national legislation, the principle of non-refoulement, and our respective obligations under international law.”
