US centers for the processing of migrants in the region, paralyzed due to “technical aspects”

Months after the announcement of the opening of the migrant processing centers in Colombia, Guatemala and Costa Rica, the US government assured on Thursday that the implementation is “at different levels” and that it will resume once technical aspects are resolved.

“In Guatemala, for example, we are in the pilot phase, in Colombia certain elements are still being resolved,” he told the voice of america Juan González, special assistant to President Joe Biden, who added that “they will start when we have all the pieces in their perfect place.”

Applications to access the so-called Safe Mobility Offices are temporarily closed more than a month ago on the website set up by the US government in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

González reiterated that the intention of the Biden Administration is that migrants in the region who intend to emigrate, “do not have to cross the Darién or do not risk their lives with traffickers, but rather that they have the opportunity to have a safe and regular channel to migrate”.

The wait in Colombia could be shorter

González’s statements occurred after a commemoration event of Colombia’s Independence Day at the White House, in which the ambassador of that country to the US, Luis Gilberto Murillo, also participated.

Murillo announced that next week “there will be some announcements that the two governments are preparing” about the processing centers in Colombia.

The nationalities that can access the services Of the offices are specific, in the case of Colombia, they will be aimed at Cuban, Haitian and Venezuelan people who were legally present in the country before June 11, 2023.

“There is going to be a distribution in some cities of the country and what was being looked at were technical aspects that both UNHCR and IOM – who are going to operate these centers – were raising, and that they have been coordinating with the experts in Colombia,” he said. Murillo to the VOA.

The ambassador assured that the work teams of both countries are working on “adjusting” some issues while “much progress has been made and there is already a commitment to continue operating these safe mobility offices.”

The US Department of State assured the VOA at the beginning of July that the temporary closure of applications on the platform safemobility.orgwas because they are “taking a phased approach to launching this initiative.”

The negotiations between the US, Colombia, Guatemala and Costa Rica occur amid a significant reduction in irregular crossings on the US border.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office reported Tuesday that during June, the number of encounters with irregular migrants was the lowest in two years with a total of 99,545.

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