US should match Colombia, Germany in expanding services for refugees
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Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights is calling on the US to do more for immigrants and refugees.
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US should match Colombia and Germany in expanding services for refugees (AFP)
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Executive Director Angelica Salas said the United States should do far more for migrants and refugees coming from any country, including extending its ability to match what Colombia and Germany are doing throughout the world.
"Our perspective is the United States can do very much more for all countries, not just for Ukrainian, not just for Afghanistan, but for Central American refugees, migrants," Salas said on the sidelines of the Summit of Americas in Los Angeles.
"It can actually expand its capacity and actually match with countries like Colombia or Germany are doing that are actually expanding the number of services to migrants around the world."
Salas claims that, while President Joe Biden's rhetoric has been more welcoming to immigrants than his predecessor's, his administration is still struggling to reverse Trump-era policies such as Title 42, which allows border authorities to refuse entry or expel migrants deemed a threat to public health. She noted that Republican judges and courts thwarted the Biden administration's efforts to repeal Title 42.
Read more: Title 42 applies to all migrants into the US, but not Ukrainians
"We still are dealing with a lot of the aftermath of the Trump-era policies. Some have been able to be lifted and others remain. And so it's important for us to recognize that while we have the Biden administration, much more work has to be done in order for our communities to feel safe and protected in this country," Salas said.
Summit of the Americas
Concerning the Summit of the Americas, she emphasized that these gatherings often result in agreements that are never executed.
"So number one on migration, I hope that the forum actually creates an agreement that upholds human and civil rights of immigrants, that upholds their rights for asylum and for legal status in the country. That's my hope," she stated.
"I also hope that there are resources to actually implement this work and that there is a commitment from the countries to create conditions so people aren't forced to migrate from their home countries."
Salas also hopes to see a regional approach, one that goes beyond just the United States and Mexico, which is based on human rights, "And the regional approach is based on human rights and also that it recognizes that people don't want to leave their countries, they are forced to leave their countries, and that the response is really based on humanity, not on expulsion, deterrence or enforcement," Salas added.
She emphasized that more dialogue between regional governments is needed to address the immigration issue. She went on to say that the discourse should be centered on how migrants would be greeted, rather than how to discourage migrants and block the flow coming north.
The Biden administration has come under fire for excluding some countries over human rights concerns. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on Monday that he will not participate in this week's summit because the United States refused to invite Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
On Tuesday, the Mexican President said he will meet with Biden in July "without that regrettable, embarrassing summit blackmail."
Salas said the absence of the representatives of such governments will complicate discussions about migration because they need to be in dialogue.
Read next: White House scrambles to defend Biden's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia
"I understand that it's very complex. You have a lot of people in civil society summit of the Americans who actually don't want these governments to be here because they feel that the reason that they have left those countries and are migrants is because of the government," she said. "So it's a very complicated issue. My perspective is that you need all countries to sit down and recognize their leadership role and that they have to collaborate and engage in a process that allows for the benefit of the people that they are supposed to be serving as presidents of their countries."
The Ninth Summit of the Americas is taking place in Los Angeles from Monday to Friday.
