U.S. planning to refer some migrants for resettlement in Greece and Italy under Biden initiative

The Biden administration is planning to direct some migrants in Latin America for resettlement in Greece and Italy as part of another effort to discourage people from the region from traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, two people familiar with the administration’s plans told CBS News. .

The initiative would involve Greece and Italy hosting migrants processed at immigration offices that the Biden administration created last year in four Latin American countries to screen migrants hoping to reach the U.S., the sources said, requesting anonymity to discuss arrangements that would have not yet been resolved. announced.

The centers, officially known as Safe Mobility Offices, allow certain migrants in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala to apply to come legally to the US or other countries. Under the new agreements, Greece and Italy would join Canada and Spain in resettling some of the people processed at the offices. One of the sources said Italy and Greece would likely accept relatively small numbers of migrants, around 500 or fewer each.

The offices are one component of a broader Biden administration strategy to reduce illegal crossings at the U.S. border by offering legal immigration opportunities to would-be migrants. Over the past year, the administration has paired these programs with tougher enforcement measures, including a rule that presumes migrants are ineligible for asylum in the U.S. if they are unable to seek protection in a third country.

Illegal crossings of the US-Mexico border are fell by more than 50% in May, compared to the record high in December – a trend that administration officials attributed to their policies and the efforts of Mexican officials to prevent migrants from traveling north. To mitigate a potential surge in migration, President Biden is also preparing issue executive action as early as next week that would bar most asylum requests as illegal crossings increase, sources familiar with the internal deliberations told CBS News.

A State Department spokesperson said the Offices of Safe Mobility “have enabled a six-fold increase in the number of refugees resettled from the Western Hemisphere.”

“Given the success of the program,” the spokesperson added, “we are in diplomatic discussions with other countries about joining this initiative to expand legal pathways to resettlement, but we do not have additional information to share at this time.”

On May 20, U.S. officials met with diplomats from Canada, Italy, Spain and countries hosting the Safe Mobility Offices to discuss the initiative, according to internal Department of Homeland Security documents. In an interview with CBS News last week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared to reference the deal with Greece.

“We work with Canada, Spain, and recently Greece, to build legal pathways for individuals to get to their countries, out of the hands of smugglers who only seek to exploit these individuals for profit,” Mayorkas said.

Representatives for the Greek and Italian governments did not respond to requests for comment.

Plans to divert some Latin American migrants to Greece and Italy highlight a growing trend by the US and other Western countries to manage intensifying migration crises around the world through international agreements.

Just as the US has faced unprecedented levels of migration to its southern border, Italy and Greece have struggled with the arrival of large numbers of migrants fleeing war and poverty in North Africa and the Middle East during the last decade. The migration crises faced by both European countries changed their policies and highlighted the often deadly nature of travel in the Mediterranean Sea.

Still, Greece and Italy are, in many cases, transit countries for migrants hoping to settle elsewhere in Europe. And both countries have aging populations and significant labor shortagecreating an incentive for them to resettle foreign workers.

First announced in May 2023, the Safe Mobility Offices are physical regional hubs for the U.S. to determine whether migrants qualify for different options for legal entry into the U.S., including through traditional refugee resettlement, family visa programs, work or immigration visas. benefit known as humanitarian parole. Migrants were also vetted for resettlement in Canada and Spain.

The U.S. has resettled about 10,000 migrants who were processed at Safe Mobility Offices through the Refugee Admissions Program, which requires beneficiaries to prove they are fleeing persecution due to their political views, religion or other factors, according to with internal government data obtained by CBS News. .

Who can be sued at the Safe Mobility Offices It depends in the host country. The office in Colombia accepts applications from Cuban, Haitian and Venezuelan migrants. The Costa Rica-based office only processes Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. In Ecuador, the US center accepts cases filed by Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Colombians. The office in Guatemala only processes Guatemalans.