09 JUN 2022

Summit of the Americas is an Opportunity to Strengthen Regional Cooperation to Global Migration, Grant Protection to Refugees, and TPS to Haiti, Central America and Venezuela

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, as the United States hosts the ninth Summit of the Americas, leaders from the Western Hemisphere have an opportunity to collaborate on and address urgent challenges, including migration policy, clean energy, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The Biden administration is set to sign the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection and will continue delivering on their blueprint to strengthen America’s immigration and asylum system through their work to encourage regional prosperity and security and address the root causes of migration.

Kerri Talbot, Deputy Director of the Immigration Hub issued the following statement calling on the administration to take additional steps:

“The Summit of the Americas is an opportunity for President Biden, Vice President Harris and leaders from the Western Hemisphere to foster collaboration on innovative and impactful approaches to address migration through a regional approach. The Summit’s leaders share a responsibility to advance a new vision for the region where all people can thrive and where the rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are respected. 

“We applaud the president and his administration for working with our neighbors to develop a blueprint at the regional level addressing the root causes of migration, human rights violations, and ensuring economic prosperity and smooth transitions to clean energy. 

“However, with ongoing debates over Title 42 as it remains in place and many countries in the Western Hemisphere still facing the dangerous aftermath of political and environmental instability, the Biden administration must take additional steps at the domestic level to protect refugees and immigrants, including granting TPS and parole to Central Americans.” 

The Summit of the Americas provides a global stage to jumpstart collaboration and commitments to create safer and orderly pathways for refugees and migrants, who are often displaced by climate, economic and political crises across the region. 107 groups called on the Biden administration for the following additional commitments at the Summit:   

Protecting Immigrants in the U.S. 

  • Designating Guatemala and redesignating El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status.

  • Requesting a significant increase in funding for the provision of legal counsel to all children subject to removal proceedings. 

Expanding Legal Pathways and Uniting Families 

  • Creating new resettlement programs that supplement access to asylum for diverse refugees, that are equitable and implemented quickly. 

  • Restart administration of the U.S. Refugees Admission Program in Cuba. 

  • Ensuring that parole programs are available to more nationalities and populations. 

  • Promoting and preserving family unity through the establishment of family reunification parole programs including for Central America and Haitians. 

Protecting the Rights of Refugees, Migrants, and Ensuring Access to Asylum 

  • Continuing to work to end the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) and Title 42–which deny asylum seekers access to protection and send them back to harm.

  • Ensuring protection-sensitive border policies uphold the obligation of non-refoulement, identify needs, and ensure meaningful access to asylum procedures for those seeking protection.

  • Reviewing all border and protection-related law, policy, practice, and processes to determine the impact on BIPOC communities. 

  • Working domestically and with countries in the hemisphere to promote access to justice for migrants and promoting increased access to protection.  

  • Increasing funding and capacity to provide for humanitarian needs all along the migratory route. 

Implementation and Consultation 

  • Avoiding bilateral arrangements that limit eligibility for asylum and “stabilization” programs that prevent people from leaving countries where they feel unsafe or cannot firmly settle.

  • Respecting labor rights across the administration’s regional migration strategy. 

  • Building on regional frameworks like the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework, or Marco Integral Regional para la Protección y Soluciones (MIRPS). 

  • Developing a process of reporting on progress of states towards implementing the principles in the Declaration and providing protection and pathways through national policies announced at the Summit. 

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.