U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated on Thursday that a Texas law that grants state regulators the authority to arrest and imprisonment immigrants who enter the country fraudulently is illegal.
In a joint press conference with Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo in the capital, Mayorkas stated that “it is our strongly held view as a matter of law that SB4 ( the Texas law ) is unconstitutional and that it is our hope and confidence that the courts will overturn it with finality.”
The Texas law passed last month did permit the position to arrest and imprisonment people who enter the country without legal permission. The United States Justice Department has criticized the rules as a flagrant violation of federal law.
A three- determine section of the 5th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard claims on the Texas rules Wednesday, but did not rule. For the time being, the legislation is still in effect.
Mayorkas stated in an interview with The Associated Press later on Thursday that” we are really concerned about the impact it would have and the conflict it might cause to the issue of frontier migration.”
Mayorkas cited the U.S.-led regional immigration approach as” building lawful, safe, and orderly processes for people to reach security from their position of harassment and, at the same time, returning citizens to their countries as a result when they do not take advantage of those constitutional pathways.”
A U.S. initiative to simplify the application process for those seeking U.S. asylum in the area through’safe mobility offices’ is one of those healthy pathways. Instead of making the risky and expensive trip to the U.S. border, they allow migrants to begin the process where they are.
Guatemala’s healthy mobility company, unlike some others like Colombia’s, is only available to Guatemalans seeking U. S. security. According to a Guatemalan standard who requested anonymity because the subject was still being discussed, one of the requests made by the Mayorkas ‘ group was that Guatemala permit the safe flexibility company to process requests for refugees from other nations.
Asked during the joint news conference if the U. S. state had asked Guatemala to mark a safe third country partnership, which Guatemala’s earlier leader had agreed to during the Trump presidency, Mayorkas did not directly answer. Such a deal would require migrants from other nations passing through Guatemala to seek protection from the country’s government rather than at the U.S. border.
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Mayorkas responded to the AP’s question again in which interview that the Guatemalan government might be able to handle some immigrant cases.
The U. S. has sought to improve cooperation with countries along the migrant route, including Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, but Mayorkas acknowledged that it has been more challenging in Nicaragua and Venezuela, where the U. S. has strained relations with those governments.
Arévalo explained the talks in similar terms. We are acting on the premise that the immigration phenomenon is a regional phenomenon, and that, as a result, solutions must be developed through the collaboration of various nations, he said.
Mayorkas also expressed his support for the Guatemalan leader, whose victory last year was challenged and whose party is still facing charges from Guatemala’s attorney general.
We are aware that the organizations that control corruption continue to aspire to endanger the democracy and the well-being of Guatemalans and other peoples, according to Mayorkas. The United States supports President Arévalo in his fight for democracy, both against the ill-equipped forces of corruption, and for the people of Guatemala.
