The US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, signed a cooperation agreement in Costa Rica on Tuesday to address migration flows in the region, according to an official statement.
“The document seeks to strengthen the fight against the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, and to explore options to strengthen current programs for the integration of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees,” the government of Costa Rica reported.
“This agreement speaks of possibilities (...). And possibilities become reality when we invest in people. We create opportunities for development and ways for people to achieve their dreams of a better life,” Mayorkas said.
“It is our hope to sign these agreements across the region,” he added.
Costa Rica is one of the countries of transit for migrants that go from south to north on their way to the United States.
“It is necessary to address it (the issue of migration) from a multidimensional point of view (...), understanding that it is affected by many things: climate change, insecurity, lack of opportunities and education,” Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, who met with Mayorkas, said for his part.
The agreement seeks to “expand international assistance from donors and multilateral institutions for the financing” of countries that massively host migrants and refugees.
“We selected Costa Rica as the first partner and friend to sign this important agreement because of its leadership on issues that impact the region and, frankly, the world,” Mayorkas explained.
The official arrived in San Jose after visiting Mexico, where he met with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Mexican authorities insisted on the need to invest in Central America and generate greater opportunities that prevent the population from migrating.
In recent years, the flows of undocumented foreigners have multiplied, while Washington has tightened its migration policies.
The administration of Democrat Joe Biden made the passage of migrants seeking asylum more flexible, but a judge ordered the reintroduction of a program launched by former Republican President Donald Trump that forces applicants to wait in Mexico for the US response.
According to the UN, in 2021 nearly one million Mexicans and Central Americans fled their countries because of violence, lack of opportunities, climate change and the ravages of the covid-19 pandemic.
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