Post-Title 42: U.S. Foreign Policy Initiatives to Manage Regional Migration

Post-Title 42: U.S. Foreign Policy Initiatives to Manage Regional Migration

INSIGHTi

Post-Title 42: U.S. Foreign Policy Initiatives to
Manage Regional Migration
Updated October 4, 2023
In FY2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehensions at the Southwest border exceeded
2.2 million through August 2023, with the majority of an increasingly diverse pool of migrants originating
from Latin America and the Caribbean. Polls indicate that the desire to migrate among residents of Latin
American and Caribbean countries increased during the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which
exacerbated socioeconomic challenges and contributed to increased social unrest and repression in some
countries, while delaying many migrants’ travel plans.
On May 11, 2023, the federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration expired. The Biden
Administration therefore ended Title 42, a public health measure invoked in March 2020 by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention that had enabled U.S. authorities to restrict entry into the United
States of foreign nationals lacking “proper travel documents.” The Biden Administration has announced
foreign policy initiatives aimed at managing post-Title 42 regional migration and requested supplemental
funds to implement them. Congress is considering legislation and appropriations that could affect those
policies while overseeing existing regional migration management efforts.
U.S. Regional Migration Management Efforts
The Biden Administration initially focused on addressing migration from Central America, a top source of
U.S.-bound migrants over the prior decade. In July 2021, pursuant to the United States-Northern Triangle
Enhanced Engagement Act (P.L. 116-260, Division FF, Subtitle F) and Executive Order 14010, the
Administration released a U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America
that seeks to address socioeconomic, governance, and security challenges in the subregion. The
Administration also developed a Collaborative Migration Management Strategy intended to build a
regional framework for safe, orderly, and humane migration in North and Central America.
The Administration subsequently broadened its engagement on migration issues beyond Central America
to other countries in the Western Hemisphere, citing the diversification of migrant flows. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken met with his counterparts in the region for a series of meetings resulting in the
negotiation of the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, signed by the United States and
20 other Western Hemisphere countries in June 2022. The declaration recognizes migration management
as a shared responsibility and seeks to bolster regional efforts to improve border controls, create legal
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migration and protection pathways, support migrants and host communities, and coordinate mass
migration responses.
U.S. efforts to implement the Los Angeles Declaration include the following measures.
Foreign Assistance
The Biden Administration has used foreign assistance to advance its migration management strategies. In
FY2022, the Administration allocated at least $704.9 million to support the implementation of the root
causes strategy in Central America. It also allocated $295.6 million in humanitarian assistance to respond
to the needs of vulnerable populations in Central America and Mexico and $656.3 million in humanitarian
assistance to countries throughout the hemisphere hosting more than 6.5 million Venezuelan migrants and
refugees. Full-year FY2023 allocations are not yet available. For FY2024, the Administration requested at
least $945.8 million to continue implementation of the root causes strategy in Central America, at least
$83.0 million to support the integration of Venezuelan migrants throughout South America, and $51.4
million for regional migration management.
In August 2023, the Administration requested $782.0 million in emergency supplemental assistance to
respond to irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere. Among other activities, the funds would
support partner governments’ efforts to regularize and integrate migrants, screen migrants for protection
needs, and repatriate migrants deemed ineligible for protection. Funds also would support the
establishment of Safe Mobility Offices throughout the region to vet potential candidates for refugee
resettlement or other legal migration pathways to the United States or other countries.
Anti-smuggling and Messaging Campaigns
The Biden Administration also has worked with regional partners to combat migrant smuggling. In June
2021, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security established Joint Task Force Alpha to enhance
enforcement efforts against human smuggling groups in Mexico and northern Central America. Such
activities build on existing cooperation mechanisms, such as transnational criminal investigative units that
investigate and prosecute smugglers and human traffickers and an International Biometric Information-
Sharing Program to help partner governments detect and detain potential security threats before they
reach the United States.
In April 2023, Colombia, Panama, and the United States announced an enforcement campaign to deter the
illicit movement of people through the Darién Gap region of Panama. U.S. officials also announced a
public messaging campaign through local paid media to counter the narratives smugglers use to lure
migrants. Results have proven elusive as Panama recorded 333,700 migrants passing through the Darien
from January-August 2023, most originating in Venezuela.
Legal Pathways, Stiffer Penalties
The Biden Administration has expanded legal pathways for migrants to enter the United States while
increasing penalties for those who enter the country illegally. With support from U.N. agencies, the
Administration has established initial Safe Mobility Offices in Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica that
have begun processing applications from migrants of certain nationalities. Migrants apprehended at the
border have been put into removal proceedings (expedited or formal) under Title 8 immigration
authorities and can be barred from reentry for five years if ordered removed.
Considerations for Congress
As Congress debates legislative and oversight responses to regional migration, foreign policy
considerations may include the following:

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• U.S. Relations in the Region. U.S. interests in Latin America and the Caribbean are
diverse and include trade, security, and democracy issues. How might the United States
balance migration management with other U.S. interests?
• Foreign Assistance. To what extent should migration trends be a factor as Congress
appropriates funding for, and evaluates the effectiveness of, foreign assistance activities?
What, if any, safeguards are in place to ensure migration management assistance does not
contribute to human rights abuses?
• Migration Agreements. On May 11, 2023, the House passed H.R. 2, which, among other
measures, would direct the Administration to seek to reestablish migration agreements
similar to the Migration Protection Protocols with Mexico and Asylum Cooperation
Agreements with Central American countries concluded during the Trump
Administration. How might such agreements affect humanitarian conditions and
migration trends?

Author Information

Clare Ribando Seelke
Peter J. Meyer
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
Specialist in Latin American and Canadian Affairs

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