Guatemala City, 9 May 2024(TDI): United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the ministers of 22 nations from the Western Hemisphere gathered in Guatemala on Tuesday.
The meeting aimed to renew their commitment to lawful migration and legal pathways to their countries and to provide aid to the most affected communities.
The Secretary of State also met with the president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, and thanked the president for hosting the third Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.
Both leaders discussed the importance of legal pathways and the collaboration of countries to address the challenge in the region.
At the conference, the Secretary of State highlighted that within two years of the Declaration, the Western Hemisphere has progressed in restraining illegal migration, improving enforcement efforts, and supporting and protecting the host communities.
He applauded the efforts of different countries in the region to create conditions of safe, orderly, and humane migration.
Antony Blinken praised the Biden administration which has led one of the largest expansions of lawful pathways for migration including the release of prisoners in Ecuador, Guatemala, and various other countries in the region for reunification of families. In addition, we have planned for more than 400,000 individuals to come to the United States lawfully, he said.
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Senior US officials from the Department of Homeland Security said that the United States acknowledged the complexity of the increase in emigration in the region and stressed the noteworthiness of collaboration to create lawful migration alternatives.
By working with partners we address a challenge impacting all Americas and we believe we will manage the illegal and deadly expatriation with cooperation and Collective joint effort.
Los Angeles Declaration
The Los Angeles Declaration was pinned off in Los Angeles, California in June 2022. Declaration on migration and protection seeks to mobilize the region by taking bold actions that will curb illicit immigration.
The United States and 21 countries from the Western Hemisphere committed to bringing improvement in the migration process in the region.
Moreover, it established internationally adopted principles and instruments for safe, orderly and humane migration. In addition, the Declaration emphasized the need for collaboration to protect the dignity, sanctity, life and human rights of emigrants. The International Organization for Migration applauded this Declaration.
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