Trump officials closing immigration offices Biden set up in Latin America
washington —The Trump administration is shutting down processing office The Biden administration has established an immigration program in Latin America aimed at giving immigrants legal immigration options and preventing them from crossing the southern border illegally, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News.
The offices, located in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala, allow certain immigrants living in or passing through those countries to apply for programs that would allow them to enter the United States legally.
The Trump administration is halting operations at these offices, known as the Safe Mobility Initiative, as “part of a broader effort to evaluate how the United States manages immigration processes to serve U.S. national interests,” an internal State Department document said.
The document also quotes President Trump executive order Suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which allowed some people fleeing war and persecution abroad to come to the United States after multiple rounds of interviews, security and medical clearances.
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The Office of Secure Mobility, first announced in May 2023, is the U.S.’s regional entity responsible for determining whether immigrants qualify for different options for legal entry into the United States, including refugee programs, family visas, work visas or immigration benefits known as humanitarian parole. .
Some immigrants were also Placement after review Canada and Spain, as these countries agreed to be part of the U.S.-led initiative.
The Biden administration believes these legal immigration pathways, combined with asylum restrictions, will prevent Latinos from making the long journey to the U.S. border.
CBS News reached out to the State Department for comment.
