Washington, May 12 (IANS) US Secretary of State 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,” as the Trump administration rejected a UN migration declaration.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, the US State Department said the United States “did not participate in the International Migration Review Forum and will not support the May 8 ‘progress’ declaration.”
The administration said it has consistently opposed United Nations efforts related to global migration frameworks.
“The United States has persistently objected to the United Nations’ efforts to advocate and facilitate replacement immigration in the United States and across the broader West,” the statement said.
It also recalled President Donald Trump’s 2017 decision to reject the Global Compact on Migration.
“The intervening years have confirmed the wisdom of that opposition,” the statement added.
The administration accused UN agencies and their partners of contributing to large-scale migration into the United States.
According to the statement, Americans had witnessed “crime and chaos at the border, states of emergency in major cities, and billions of taxpayer dollars funneled towards hotels, plane tickets, cell phones and cash cards for migrants.”
It further alleged that UN-linked efforts “did not just facilitate the invasion of our country, but proceeded to redistribute our own people’s wealth and resources to millions of foreigners from the worst corners of the world.”
The statement dismissed the UN’s approach towards migration management.
“There was nothing ‘safe,’ ‘orderly,’ or ‘regular’ about any of this,” it said.
“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,” it added.
The Trump administration said it would not support any international process that could limit US sovereignty over immigration policy.
“President Trump is focused on the interests of Americans, not foreigners or globalist bureaucrats,” the statement 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,” it added.
The administration also signalled a tougher approach to immigration policy.
“Our goal is not to ‘manage’ migration, but to foster remigration,” the statement said.
The International Migration Review Forum is linked to the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted in 2018 to strengthen international cooperation on migration issues. The compact is non-binding, but it has faced criticism from several conservative governments over concerns about national sovereignty and border control.
–IANS
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