MEXICO CITY, Jan 10 (Reuters) – The United States is looking to Canada to help deal with the growing number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, a State Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
A possible trilateral deal with Canada, the United States and Mexico was on the table as the three countries met in Mexico for the North American Leaders Summit, spokeswoman Kristina Rosales told Reuters.
The deal would help thousands of people immigrate legally, without having to risk their lives at the hands of human traffickers, Rosales said.
“Canada has its own specific asylum and migration programs,” Rosales said, telling Reuters ahead of the trilateral talks that the countries would discuss Canada’s participation.
No deal was immediately made public after talks between US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ended on Tuesday.
US authorities apprehended 2.2 million migrants at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022, a record not seen since World War II.
Rosales also said the United States is considering allowing more nationalities to enter the country by air while deporting those crossing by land under an order known as Title 42.
The order, launched in October for Venezuelans, was expanded last week to Cuban, Nicaraguan and Haitian immigrants.
Encounters of Venezuelans at the border dropped by about 90% in December, and similar declines are expected for other migrants in the program.
“If we see that we have to increase the number of people eligible for humanitarian parole per month and include other nationalities, we will take that into account,” added Rosales.
Mexico’s Lopez Obrador said Tuesday that the nation “celebrated” the U.S. decision to grant humanitarian parole and believed “that this plan will be extended to benefit other countries.”
The United States has seen in recent months a significant increase in migrants arriving in the country by sea from Caribbean countries such as Cuba and Haiti. Rosales said those who came to the United States by sea “unfortunately will not be able to qualify” for humanitarian parole.
Rosales added that the US government is looking to expand legal immigration methods and prevent would-be migrants from paying human traffickers.
“We want to expand the legal channels so that people can apply directly from their cellphones,” Rosales said.
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Written by Kylie Madry. Editing by Gerry Doyle
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