Joint Statement from the United States and Guatemala on Migration
On May 31, 2023, as follow up to the May 26, 2023 call between President of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei and Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris, National Security Advisor to the Vice President Dr. Phil Gordon and National Security Council Senior Director for Transborder Katie Tobin led a high-level delegation of White House and State Department officials to meet with President Giammattei and a high-level delegation comprised of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior and National Defense, the Solicitor General, the Migration General Director and the Ambassador of Guatemala to the United States. Today’s meetings built on the strong cooperation between Guatemala and the United States to manage the historic irregular migration challenge impacting both countries.
As a result of this meeting, the two governments jointly commit to take a series of critical steps to humanely reduce irregular migration and expand legal pathways under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.
Guatemala and the United States announce a comprehensive program to manage irregular migration, including as the first step the implementation of a six-month pilot phase of “Oficinas de Movilidad Segura”. This program will facilitate access to lawful pathways to the United States and other countries, family reunification, and access to temporary work visas. These offices will begin accepting appointments on the website movilidadsegura.org on June 12, 2023.
The United States and Guatemala will also deepen cooperation on border security and will continue to address the root causes of irregular migration.
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