• The Government of Mexico will expand its temporary labor programs for foreigners and integrate refugees into its labor market
  • Mexico and the U.S. are launching two new working groups: to strengthen the labor rights of Mexicans and expand the visa programs, and to protect minors in a situation of mobility in both countries.

At the 9th Summit of the Americas, as a gesture of its willingness to cooperate and of its regional leadership on this issue, the Government of Mexico committed to specific, ambitious measures that strengthen the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. The measures are consistent with Mexico's vision of migration. They expand labor and refugee programs with the countries of northern Central America and request the support of the United States for the Mexican communities in that country.

The Los Angeles Declaration advances the common goal of orderly, safe, and regular migration in the Americas. It focuses on measures to strengthen communities that receive substantial numbers of migrants; expands labor mobility programs; and commits to more humane migration management measures and a coordinated response to emergency situations. Therefore, Mexico supports the Declaration and is complementing it with a series of new specific measures for labor mobility, refugees and vulnerable groups.

Regarding labor mobility, the Government of Mexico will work with the Government of Guatemala to launch a new labor cooperation program for 15,000-20,000 Guatemalans, with a view to  expanding the program to include Hondurans and Salvadorans in the medium term.

In addition, the Government of Mexico will expand the existing Border Worker Card Program, doubling it to include 10,000-20,000 additional beneficiaries per year.  Both programs will be carried out with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to recruit workers in an ethical manner, accompany the visa application processes in northern Central America and strengthen the monitoring of labor rights.

In conjunction with UN agencies such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), Mexico will seek to provide job opportunities to 20,000 relocated and integrated refugees over the next three years, starting in 2022. Mexico has a solid labor market for both its citizens and foreigners, and a tradition of solidarity and a commitment to refugees at the American and global levels. This effort by the federal government, led by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar), as well as state, municipal and private sector authorities, with a key role played by UNHCR, benefits refugees, companies and society as a whole.

In addition, the governments of Mexico and the United States have agreed to create two new bilateral working groups. The first will seek to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that strengthens visa programs and the labor rights of Mexicans who work in the United States. Both governments will work together to carry out ethical recruitment processes that respect the workers' human and labor rights.

The new process would strengthen cooperation between our two governments on the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs, including a focus on the southern states of Mexico, in order to promote development in the region. Mexico's National Employment Service (Labor Ministry) will promote and advertise its vacancies and find the best way to bring the human capital needed to fill them.

The agenda of the new binational group includes the design of a pilot program to find and hire Mexican workers in specific sectors. The program's goal is to link U.S. industries with essential sectors and for the participating workers to come mainly from Mexico's southern states. This will strengthen the role of both governments in recruiting potential workers, which will protect them from intermediaries and reduce the possibility of abuse, such as charging fees for a temporary work visa.

The second binational working group will design and implement new measures to protect the rights of minors in situations of mobility in both countries.  In the spirit of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, Mexico and the United States will strengthen their cooperation, together with UN agencies, so that their authorities provide adequate attention to this key vulnerable group.

Lastly, the Government of Mexico reiterates the importance of addressing the structural causes of migration in order to provide economic alternatives to migrants so that they can remain in their communities of origin. In order to strengthen the various economic development programs, the Government of Mexico continues to work with its regional partners on a conference on this issue, to be held soon in northern Central America.