Salazar calls on Biden administration to help Guatemala protect southern border

The Guatemalan government, which is committed to a policy of no illegal immigration, needs “serious help” from the Biden administration to stop an expected surge of migrants at the United States-Mexico border ahead of the May 11 expiration of Title 42, an emergency immigration restriction, says U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL).

“The Guatemalans have been pleading with the Biden administration to help them stem the flow of illegal immigration through Guatemala, only to be treated with contempt in return,” Rep. Salazar said in a statement last week. “The United States cannot afford inaction on the southern border any longer. President Biden — it is time to end this crisis now!”

Rep. Salazar reiterated those comments in a May 4 letter sent to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in which she wrote that the president of Guatemala requires U.S. assistance to enforce immigration law at America’s southern border, where she wrote that the migration crisis is out of control.

“Enforcing the law has been a terrible burden and the Guatemalans are now almost out of money and equipment trying to stop this historic flood of people,” the congresswoman wrote, adding that the country has “repeatedly asked the Department of Homeland Security for the resources they need in order to shut down the tidal wave of migrants heading to our country.”

“Guatemala is a critical chokepoint on the migrant journey north,” she wrote. “If they cannot hold the line, our border is going to be overwhelmed imminently.”

Rep. Salazar wrote that the country needs ground and aerial military-grade vehicles to shut down their border and to protect the U.S. border.

“Your administration must recognize that we have hit crisis levels and start taking bold actions,” she wrote. “Giving a critical partner of the United States like Guatemala the tools it needs is key to securing our border and ending this disaster now.”