- The two MOUs were agreed to by presidents of Mexico and the U.S. during the 10th North American Leaders’ Summit. They seek to make regional migration more orderly, safe, regular, and humane.
Today, the ambassadors of Mexico to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma, and of the U.S. to Mexico, Ken Salazar, signed two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on labor mobility and protection of unaccompanied minors in a situation of mobility.
The MOUs are the result of a conversation held by the presidents of the two countries and the work done by two binational working groups. The first, on labor mobility, is between the Mexican Foreign Ministry and National Employment Service (SNE) and the U.S. Departments of State and Labor. Mexico was represented in the second working group by the National System for Integral Family Development (DIF), the Office of the Attorney General for Child Welfare and the Foreign Ministry. Participating for the U.S. were the Department of State, the Office for Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Mexican and U.S. governments share the vision of a more orderly, safe, regular and humane migration. The Foreign Ministry's Chief Officer for North America, Roberto Velasco, said, "The instruments signed today include coordinated mechanisms and policies so that the authorities on both sides of the border can implement protection policies for both workers and unaccompanied children in both countries."
Ambassador Moctezuma said, "Regulated migration strengthens the idea of North America: we seek to set an example for the entire world on how countries can work together to promote labor rights." In addition, he reiterated that "regular migration benefits everyone: companies, workers and their labor rights, the economies, and the orderliness and legality of the two countries." Ambassador Ken Salazar stressed that the bilateral relationship is excellent after President Biden's historic visit.
The Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Labor Mobility and Protection of Participants in Temporary Foreign Worker Programs is designed to strengthen the labor rights of Mexican workers in the United States. In it, the two governments commit to strengthen their joint efforts to: a) ensure ethical recruitment of Mexican nonimmigrant workers with H2 visas; b) collaborate to protect their wages and working conditions; and c) further facilitate the availability of temporary Mexican agricultural employment in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations of both countries.
In addition, U.S. authorities will share information for the new SNE digital platform to make it easier to hire workers directly. The Undersecretary of Employment and Labor Productivity, Marath Bolaños, said, "With this memorandum, a firm step is taken to protect the human and labor rights of Mexicans who are looking for a job opportunity in the United States, thus enabling regular, orderly and safe labor mobility.” In addition, he highlighted the collaboration with the U.S. in strengthening the new SNE virtual platform.
U.S. authorities will also offer training on anti-discrimination to officials at the Mexican Labor Ministry and Mexico’s consulates in the United States. The goal is to better assist our fellow Mexicans to assert their labor rights under U.S. legislation.
The MOU includes quarterly meetings to prevent, monitor and report violations of labor rights such as fraud, abuse, and discrimination, and to stop measures that companies can take against those who file complaints for rights violations.
The goal of the MOU on Unaccompanied Minors in a Situation of Mobility is to create bilateral mechanisms that strengthen protection by Mexican and U.S. authorities. The goal is for child migrants not to travel unregulated through the region and, most importantly, for them to avoid coming into contact with criminal human trafficking and smuggling networks. Due to the transnational nature of migration, the MOU also seeks to assist other countries of the region to promote international cooperation as part of their policies of protection for minors.
Together with Ambassadors Esteban Moctezuma and Ken Salazar, the meeting was also attended by Chief Officer for North America Roberto Velasco; Undersecretary of Employment and Labor Productivity Marath Bolaños; the head of the National DIF System, Nuria Fernández, who was an honorary witness to the signing of both documents; and the Director General of Consular Protection and Strategic Planning, Vanessa Calva.
