US and Mexico enter deal to accept select immigrants ahead of Title 42 expiration

Anna Giaritelli

May 03, 11:28 AM May 03, 11:28 AM

The United States and Mexico have reached a new agreement aimed at bolstering security and immigration processes as arrests at the border tick up just days before the Border Patrol will lose its ability to immediately send people back to Mexico.

Biden administration officials reached the new deal with Mexican officials during a visit to Mexico City this week. The plan is meant to stem some of the irregular migration through the region by opening up new legal pathways that deter people from entering the U.S. without authorization between the ports of entry.

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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the White House's Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall confirmed that Mexico will accept deported illegal immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — a move that Mexico had refused to make during most of the pandemic.

In addition, the U.S. will grant admission and work permits to 100,000 people from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who apply through the family reunification parole process. Immigrants do not need to seek asylum to be allowed into the U.S.

Both countries agreed to crack down on smugglers and human traffickers, particularly in Panama's Darien Gap jungle, where immigrants, including Haitians and Venezuelans, pay cartels to lead them through the dangerous journey in order to get out of South America and into Central America.

The new actions come a day after the Pentagon confirmed that it would send in 1,500 active-duty troops to do non-law enforcement jobs at the border and free up Border Patrol to attend to the border, not menial tasks.

Last week, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. had entered into agreements to open regional processing centers in several countries that immigrants most often travel through to get to the U.S. Its first processing centers were set up in Colombia and Guatemala.

"Individuals from the region will be able to make an appointment on their phone to visit the nearest [regional processing center] before traveling, receive an interview with immigration specialists, and if eligible, be processed rapidly for lawful pathways to the United States, Canada, and Spain," according to a government fact sheet that outlined the policy changes.

But Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas admitted the new centers outside the U.S. would only be capable of processing up to 6,000 people a month — roughly the number of immigrants arrested attempting to enter the U.S. illegally every day in the last two years.

WATCH: Rep. Waltz calls for sending ‘very clear message’ to Mexico and drug cartels

Heather Hamilton

March 13, 10:33 AM March 13, 10:35 AM

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) is calling upon the Biden administration to demonstrate stronger leadership and confront the Mexican drug cartel crisis.

“This is more weakness from this White House,” Waltz told WHD News’s Steve Hilton. “Now cartels, these narco-terrorists that control our southern border, that control upwards of a third, according to some estimates, of the entire country of Mexico.”

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“Look, I would ask the White House, 'If ISIS or al Qaeda pumped chemicals into the United States that killed 80,000 Americans, more than the worst year of World War II, would we be treating it as a law enforcement/diplomatic problem?' Hell no, we wouldn’t!” Waltz said. “We would go after them, ISIS and al Qaeda, with everything we’ve got. And that’s what we’re demanding now in the Congress.”

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) joined Waltz in January, introducing legislation to authorize military force against the major Mexican drug cartels. Their effort has found support from former Attorney General William Barr.

Waltz said efforts could utilize offensive cyberstrategy through military or space assets, in addition to going after the cartels’ money or dismantling the cartel leadership with special operation forces.

"We’re at a point now where we need to send a very clear message ... to say we’re going to have to do this with you or without you. We have no choice. We cannot accept, actually under international law, to allow your territory to be used as a sanctuary for narco-terrorists to then kill the citizens of your neighbor is a violation of international law," Waltz said.

“And I think we send a message that we have no choice: Work with us, or we're going to have work alone to protect our sovereignty, our people, and our interest. I think if we send that message the right way, much like we did with the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, that we’ll see folks get on board," the congressman said.

When it was suggested that a new president might be needed for Waltz to see his ideas come to fruition, the Republican congressman said immediate action is needed in light of the recent kidnapping and slaying of American citizens in Mexico.

“We owe it to those families to do everything we can do from Congress and at least set the stage for the next president if this one won’t … act,” Waltz said.

WATCH: Cruz blasts Biden as ‘best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels’

Heather Hamilton

March 08, 06:39 AM March 08, 06:39 AM

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) did not hold back when expressing his frustration over what he called President Joe Biden’s weak leadership concerning the border crisis.

Cruz said the recent kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom have been confirmed dead, is indicative of the “chaos” that Biden’s policies have created.

TWO OF FOUR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS FOUND DEAD IN MEXICO

“Those who kill American citizens must be held accountable,” Cruz said on Jesse Watters Primetime. “This wouldn’t happen if we had responsible presidential leadership. Joe Biden created the chaos at the border. Joe Biden stopped building the wall, he reinstated 'Catch and Release.' He pulled out of ‘Remain in Mexico,’ and what Joe Biden has done is he has turned these vicious narco-terrorists into billionaires.”

"Joe Biden becoming president is the best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels," Cruz added.

The Texas senator blasted the Biden administration, including White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, for “no shortage of disastrous statements when it comes to the open border.”

“Karine Jean-Pierre saying fentanyl has never been better — I actually wonder if the reporters in the briefing room scooted back afraid that lightning was going to hit the podium,” Cruz said. “I mean, good God!”

“Last year, we had the highest number of drug overdoses in the history of our country. Over 100,000 drug overdoses in the United States, a majority of which came from Chinese fentanyl flooding across this border,” Cruz continued. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are responsible for turning these vicious murderers into multi-billionaires.”

Cruz suggested additional “pressure” must be placed on the Mexican government to stop the border crisis.

“The answer is put pressure on Mexico and have the Mexican army show up, arrest these guys, extradite them to the United States,” Cruz said. “They need to be prosecuted and face the full force of American justice, and if we had a president with a scintilla of willingness to stand up to other nations, that’s exactly what would be happening right now.”