“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
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A Good Will Gesture to Biden?
The spokesman for the National Security Council of the United States, John Kirby, thanked Mexico for the arrest in a press conference from the White House. Kirby said that “it is not an insignificant achievement on the part of the Mexican authorities,” adding “we are certainly grateful for it,” he added. He assured that they are going to talk “a lot” about this issue during the upcoming meetings in Mexico.
Tensions Over the Drug War & Migration
He also pointed out that this operation “softens the relationship with the United States, which has been tense in recent months; first, due to security issues and, later, due to migration.”
Title 42 Remains in Place
In recent years, the migration crisis has increased. Title 42 was implemented at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Trump administration when access was limited to the US via its border entries and flights. This forces asylum seekers to remain in their current country while applying to the US. It still remains in effect today as recent attempts to let expire the policy was blocked by federal judges.
A new immigration plan presented by Biden last week and applauded by the Mexican government contemplates delivering 30,000 humanitarian permits per month for Venezuelan, Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian migrants who have a sponsor in the United States. And it was agreed, that migrants of those nationalities expelled from the United States will be taken back to Mexico, not deported to their home countries. This has made cities like Tijuana a refuge for citizens of Haiti and Central America, waiting for permission to enter the United States as a refugee. But for many, that hasn’t happened and the process has been slow.
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| Mexican President AMLO responded to questions that the capture could be interpreted as a gesture before the upcoming summit. |
AMLO’s Response
“About the interpretations, since there are many, we rethink them, of course, we do not share them, because we act autonomously. I am going to give you as background that, in two difficult moments, when Donald Trump was president, he spoke to me to offer us support, precisely when we stopped and had to release Ovidio for the first time. On that occasion I made the decision to release him due to the risks to the civilian population, we calculated that there would be many innocent deaths and we made that decision. President Trump spoke to me to offer me support; I thanked him and told him that it was our business and that we were going to face it, to solve it.”
“Then came another event, also very unfortunate: the murder of women in Bavispe, with children, the LeBarón family, and two other families. So, well, that unfortunate event was also very strong, and President Trump also spoke to me for the same thing, to tell me that they could help with personnel and with whatever was needed; and the same thing, the answer was: No, thank you very much, we are going to investigate what happened, accordingly, and those responsible will be punished. This, by the way, has already been done, because there are close to 100 detainees in the Bavispe case.”
“So, we have always taken care.”