President Donald Trump’s administration is putting an end to a largely concealed federal initiative aimed at relocating low-wage labor from Central and South America into the United States and European countries. This program, known as the Safe Mobility Initiative, was designed to establish multiple offices in foreign nations, allowing low-wage workers to apply for visas to live and work in the U.S. and Europe.
According to CBS News, the Trump administration is closing processing offices in Latin America that were set up by the Biden administration to provide migrants with legal immigration alternatives and discourage them from illegally crossing the southern border. These offices, located in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala, enabled select migrants residing in or passing through these countries to apply for programs that would allow them to legally enter the U.S.
The internal documents from the State Department revealed that the Trump administration is halting operations as part of a broader strategy to reassess the United States’ management of migration processes, ensuring they align with national interests. Since 2024, more than 30,000 migrants have been funneled through this system via various legal and quasi-legal routes, including H-2A and H-2B work visas, parole exceptions, and asylum claims.
The initiative was the brainchild of President Joe Biden’s fervently pro-migration border czar, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Biden’s pro-migration Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Their deputies integrated the plan into a larger migration agreement known as the LA Declaration, which involved several South American, Central American, and European countries, including Spain.
Mayorkas, Biden’s Cuban-born migration chief, stated during a September 2024 meeting in Washington D.C. that the U.S. has committed to accepting between 35,000 and 50,000 refugees from the Western Hemisphere in 2025, and 125,000 globally. He expressed a personal belief that these numbers should be much higher, reflecting his own migration story.
Marcela Escobari, a Bolivian immigrant appointed to Biden’s National Security Council, voiced similar sentiments at a meeting hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She spoke about the potential for a “Labor Neighbors” concept, which aims to facilitate the hiring of more migrants from South America by U.S. and European employers.
Escobari emphasized the importance of international cooperation, describing it as an emerging “Coalition of the Brave” where governments make difficult decisions for the benefit of their countries and regions, rejecting xenophobia and divisive politics. She noted the joint progress should be a source of pride and collaboration for the betterment of all citizens.
The Labor Neighbors program, initiated in 2024, became part of the multinational Los Angeles Declaration, striving to establish migration pathways from South America. Escobari highlighted that millions could be given a chance to restart their lives in the United States and Europe.
The program bore similarities to George W. Bush’s “Any Willing Worker” initiative, which aimed to address the economic needs of the country by welcoming foreign workers for jobs that American citizens were unwilling to take. Bush emphasized the necessity of new immigration laws that cater to the nation’s economic requirements.
Despite a 1990 law that limits migrant inflow to around 1 million per year, congressional Democrats discreetly funded the Safe Mobility Initiative, channeling resources through various agencies, including Mayorkas’s Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of State, and the United Nations.
Migration advocates were aware of the growing unpopularity of their agenda, prompting them to keep their plans under the radar. They sought to downplay the political visibility of the initiative, as noted by Amy Pope, Biden’s U.N. appointee, during a Georgetown meeting.
Pope stressed the importance of involving stakeholders traditionally not included in such discussions, particularly the faith community, which plays a crucial role in meeting the basic needs of those they sponsor or serve and bringing a human element to the efforts.
Pope also highlighted the necessity of engaging the private sector, which she said is desperate for a sustainable workforce that migration can provide. She argued that the private sector possesses the credibility to advocate for migration in ways that NGOs or U.N. organizations might not.
In May 2023, Pope claimed that migration could breathe new life into American communities, drawing on her personal experiences growing up in cities like Cleveland, Akron, and Pittsburgh, which have all benefited from migration.
Under Tony Blinken, Biden’s Department of State actively promoted the virtues of cheap labor and diversity migration. However, this pro-migration stance contributed to President Donald Trump’s victory over the Democratic coalition in the November elections. Trump’s State Department chief, Marco Rubio, now stands firmly against mass migration, advocating for policies that prioritize American citizens.
Rubio’s approach underscores a shift in focus, placing the interests and needs of American workers at the forefront of immigration policy. This stance resonates with many who feel that unchecked migration undermines domestic job opportunities and wage growth. The Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the Safe Mobility Initiative reflects a broader commitment to tightening immigration controls and ensuring that migration policies serve the nation’s interests.
The move to shutter these processing offices signals a significant departure from the previous administration’s approach, which many viewed as overly lenient and detrimental to American workers. By reevaluating and restructuring the U.S. immigration framework, the Trump administration aims to create a more balanced and fair system that respects the contributions of legal immigrants while safeguarding the livelihoods of American citizens. This policy shift is expected to have lasting implications for the nation’s immigration strategy and its relationship with neighboring countries in the Western Hemisphere.
