The US State Department confirmed on Sunday that top diplomat Antony Blinken is due to travel to Guatemala this week for regional talks regarding migration, which has become a pressing bilateral issue.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken will lead the US delegation in Guatemala for the regional meeting of the 2022 Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.

This is not the first meeting on the matter, as US President Joe Biden and Guatemalan counterpart Bernardo Arevalo met back in March, with an announcement of $170 million in US aid.

The month prior, Guatemala joined in on a three-way cooperation with the US and Mexico on migration.

"Secretary Blinken will underscore our advances over the past two years and look ahead to next joint steps to bolster humane migration management and robust enforcement, lawful pathways and access to protection, and increasing refugee and migrant integration in the Americas," Miller said in his statement, adding that Blinken will still meet with Arevalo alongside other regional leaders.

Read next: 8 million migrants to be stuck in US 'legal limbo' by October: Axios

Just before the elections

According to the US Border Patrol, almost 130,000 Guatemalans illegally crossed the US-Mexico border from October to February, which were included among a total of 1.15 million migrants intercepted during that timeframe.

The divisive issue has become a focal point for Republicans, spearheaded by former President Donald Trump, who continues to label the release of immigrants who recently crossed the border as a national security threat.

This comes at a time when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is grappling with the need to scale back operations as the Biden administration seeks more funds to bolster the border. Simultaneously, the border witnesses a steady stream of thousands of individuals crossing in every day amid near-inaction from the Biden administration.

A wave of illegal border crossings in recent months has made migration a key talking point in the US presidential election campaign once again, with Republicans seeking to blame the record-high numbers entirely on Biden.

A survey conducted for Newsweek indicates that the ongoing migrant crisis has influenced #Texan attitudes toward independence.

The poll revealed that 44% of respondents are more likely or significantly more likely to support #Texas becoming a fully independent country.

Daniel… pic.twitter.com/wEOty54Slh

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 16, 2024