US, Mexico Agree on New Border Crossing Policy

The United States and Mexico have agreed on a new plan to control the flow of illegal border crossings while allowing immigrants to enter the United States for humanitarian reasons.

The plan was announced Tuesday after meetings between Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and US Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood Randall in Mexico City.

Under this plan, the United States accepted immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela as part of its humanitarian parole program, and Mexico agreed to accept immigrants from those four countries who entered the United States illegally.

The United States will also host approximately 100,000 people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras under its Family Reunification Program.

The agreement comes ahead of the end of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump’s administration, known as Title 42. Restrictions have allowed U.S. authorities to quickly deport tens of thousands of immigrants for illegal entry.

The Title 42 Policy will officially end on May 11th.

In a related move, the Joe Biden administration has agreed to send 1,500 more active-duty military personnel to the U.S. southern border as local and state officials prepare for a surge in immigration from Latin America.

Some information in this report was provided by AP and Reuters.