Mexico will open a new immigration center in the south of its territory to welcome refugees from the mainland, which will be supported by the governments of the United States and Canada, as agreed by the leaders of the three countries.

The announcement was made public after the X Summit of North American Leaders, which brought together the Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in Mexico City; in the United States, Joe Biden; and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.

“The Mexican government is designing a space for employment, assistance and refugee protection services, in collaboration with international organizations,” they detailed in a joint statement.

This center “would offer services and alternatives for protection, documentation and labor mobility”, as well as “immigration control tasks”.

Additionally, “the governments of the United States and Canada will work with the government of Mexico and international organizations to provide services and assistance to refugees in said space,” they explained.

Prior to the meeting, the White House had indicated that it would agree to the creation of “a new center in southern Mexico” to deal with migrants.

However, during the press conference after the summit, López Obrador denied that they were going to build a migration center, but rather invest in shelters.

According to the joint statement, the leaders promised to increase “regular routes as an alternative to irregular migration in America” ​​and to “strengthen asylum processes”.

Ahead of the summit, the United States launched an agreed immigration program with Mexico that plans to give 30,000 humanitarian permits to Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians, but deport those who cross the border irregularly into Mexican territory.

At the press conference following the summit, Biden publicly thanked López Obrador for admitting that migrants are being deported from the United States.