What to know after U.S. accused UN of pushing migration
· Toronto Sun
The United Nations recently reviewed its Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration , a voluntary and non-binding agreement among member states.
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More than 150 countries, including Canada , European Union member states, Mexico and Brazil, voted to adopt the agreement’s framework eight years ago.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration refused to participate in the UN’s review last week, calling it an effort to “advocate and facilitate replacement immigration in the United States and across the broader West,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement Monday .
The agreement, adopted in December 2018, seeks to streamline the migration process so as to avoid overwhelming social programs in member nations due to the unexpected arrival of large numbers of people while also limiting the number of deaths that occur during dangerous journeys over land and sea.
Among the framework’s 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regional and global levels are ensuring migrants have proof of identity, encouraging cooperation to track missing individuals during their journeys, and making sure they have access to basic services and are welcomed to the new country.
Meetings take place every four years to review how much progress has been made implementing the compact’s framework among nations.
Voted against migration compact
But during Trump’s first term in office, the U.S. joined Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in voting against legitimizing the migration compact.
And the U.S. said it will not show any support for migrants who enter the country illegally during Trump’s second term.
“As Secretary (Marco) Rubio said, opening our doors to mass migration was a grave mistake that threatens the cohesion of our societies and the future of our peoples,” the statement said.
“In recent years, Americans witnessed first-hand how mass immigration laid waste to our communities: crime and chaos at the border, states of emergency in major cities, and billions of taxpayer dollars funneled towards hotels, plane tickets, cellphones and cash cards for migrants.”
Remove and deport undocumented residents
Since Trump returned to office, his administration has stepped up efforts to remove and deport undocumented residents across the country.
U.S. officials accused UN agencies and their partners for the migrants who entered the country, mostly at the southern border with Mexico.
“There was nothing ‘safe,’ ‘orderly,’ or ‘regular’ about any of this,” the statement continued. “And the costs were borne primarily by working Americans forced to compete for scarce jobs, housing, and social services. The UN has little to say about them.”
In fact, the Trump administration said the country’s goal while he is in office is not to “manage” migration but to “foster remigration.”
“President Trump is focused on the interests of Americans, not foreigners or globalist bureaucrats,” the spokesperson said. ”The United States will not support a process that imposes, overtly or by stealth, guidelines, standards, or commitments that constrain the American people’s sovereign, democratic right to make decisions in the best interests of our country.”
Trafficking victims mostly women and girls
During last week’s meeting , UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at least 200,000 victims were trafficked — most of them women and girls — over the past four years. In addition, more than 15,000 people died or disappeared along migration routes.
He also said “families and children continue to be detained, and countless workers remain exploited and excluded from labour protections.”
UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said migration has existed for thousands of years and is not a new phenomenon, adding it has been “heavily politicized, focusing on irregular movements” in recent years.
“Migration is an inevitable human reality,” she said. “The question is not whether migration is good or bad. The question is whether we manage it well and manage it together, as every country today is either a country of origin, transit or destination — and most times even all three at once.”