internet tracking soared at we never slowed down. schools went virtual and we powered a new reality. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, even ua rop -- giving you a front-row seat to democracy. >> president biden leaders of 17 other nations in the western hemisphere created a pathway for legal migrants and refugees. the agreement came on the last day of the summative americas in los angeles. president biden: you are looking awfully orderly.

it looks awful formal, doesn't it? hello, everyone. my problem is, i am getting to like these people too much. [laughter] we are going to get one another in trouble, i'm afraid. today, the leaders on this stage are joining to make what is an

overused phrase in international relations, make a historic commitment. because it is a historic commitment we are about to make. 20 countries coming together to launch the los angeles declaration on migration and protection. with this declaration, we are transforming our coach to managing migration in the americas. each of us, each of us signing up to commitments that recognize the challenges we all share and responsibility that impacts all of our nations. that will take all our nations. and this, i have learned am sick if it can to experience. it will take all laminations working in partnership to address this migration issue. for the past for years, the global economic crisis figure by the covid-19 pandemic, now made worse by russia's war in ukraine and the political turmoil from

autocracies in our region have led to record levels of migration. not just the u.s., columbia has hosted millions of refugees from venezuela. right now, migrants makeup as much as 10% of the population of costa rica. and no nation should bear this sponsor ability alone, in our. our economic futures depend on one another. our security is linked in ways i don't think most people in my country fully understand, and maybe not in your countries as well. our common humanity demands that we care for our neighbors by working together. the los angeles declaration is built around four core pillars. first, stability and assistance, making sure communities that are welcoming refugees can afford to

care for them, educate them, medical care, shelter and job opportunities. second, increasing pathways for legal migration throughout the region as well as protections for refugees. there -- third, working together for a humane and orderly order management system. finally, making sure we are working together to respond to emergencies. we know that safe, orderly and legal migration is good or all our economies, but we need to halt the dangerous and unlawful ways that people are migrating unlawful migration is not -- people are migrating. unlawful migration is not acceptable. we will secure armor -- we will secure our borders in partnership with our partners with groundbreaking new approaches that address the needs of vulnerable migrants and

the needs of countries hosting those migrants. that is why it has the support of the u.n. high commissioner on refugees and the international organization for migration and that is why so many nations, again, 20, representing the entire migration route from chile to canada were eager to sign up to be part of this shared solution and have stepped up their own major commitments. i want to thank president chavez of costa rica, and the president of ecuador, who you will hear from in a minute, for new commitments to protect migrants in your countries, so you have a chance to stay and rebuild your lives. like many others, united states stepping up with commitments as well. our partners continue to welcome refugees and migrants.

we are providing economic support more than $300 -- $300 million in new funding for humanitarian assistance across the region so when migrants arrive on their doorstep, they can provide a place to stay, make sure migrants can see a doctor, find opportunities for work so they don't take the dangerous journey north. and we are going to provide millions more, including to the world bank, to support countries and communities that are carrying the greatest responsibility for migrants. for example, colombia received $800 million last year. not enough, but the $800 million will help respond to the influx of refugees from venezuela. and there is more we will do working with the world bank and the inter-development make. we are expanding opportunities for people to come to the u.s. lawfully. in the next two years, we will resettle 20,000 refugees from the region. we recently resumed the cuban

family reunification program, resuming increasing access to the haitian family reunification parole program, with the goal of admitting 20,000 per year country. and on the jobs front, our department of agriculture is launching a pilot program funded by the american rescue plan to help american farmers bring in seasonal agricultural workers from northern and central america to improve conditions for all workers. the program was designed in cooperation with the united farm and through consultation with farmers, farmworkers, unions and other stakeholders we are also dedicating an additional 11,500 h to be non-agriculture temporary work visas to open opportunities for workers in haiti and northern central

american countries -- mexico, guatemala, canada and spain are also making commitments today to expand labor pathways to their countries as well. in addition, we are securing our border and bringing order to the asylum processes in the united states. the department of homeland security is leading a campaign to scrub humans likely in the region. if you prey on migrants for profit, we are coming for you. we are coming after you. in the first two months of our anti-smuggling campaign, the u.s. has worked with partner nations to raid stash houses, impound vehicles for use in smuggling operations, and we made more than 1800 arrests. as we speak, mexico and the u.s. are conducting what is known as bear patrols, joint operations

to interdict criminals trying to move drugs and migrants across our borders illegally. this is just a start. much more work remains, to state the obvious. every country needs to work together to maintain a humane and orderly immigration process, to invest in securing the borders, screening and registering migrants who enter their countries, and repatriating those who do not qualify to remain. i hope more countries will see the potential for joining the los angeles declaration. i thank all my fellow leaders on this stage for committing to this historic vision for our region. i would like to invite president alonso of ecuador to say a few words. thank you, all, very much, for your patience. [applause]

>> thank you, very much, president biden. [inaudible] [laughter] thank you, very much, president biden, for this invitation. it has been a true daughter to be at this summit and this distinguished group from the americas. ladies and gentlemen, it is important for the region to continue the dialogue to promote safe, regular and orderly migration. we need actions that translate into public policies that promote development and

inclusion, and an environment of peace and security, and framed in section of the human rights of people in human mobility. i welcome this summit and the political will expressed other heads of states and delegations wasn't here to with the objective of strengthening coordinated actions in this area. the socioeconomic situation aggravated the effects of 19 has led to an increase in regular migratory flows, with humanitarian, socioeconomic and security implications. today more than ever, it is necessary to generate joint actions to assist migrant

-sending and receiving countries, promoting a comprehensive development agenda that has the human being as its central access, and governments working in a coordinated manner to combat the structural stresses of irregular migration. it is urgent on one hand to promote development opportunities in the countries of origin and on the other hand, coordination and cooperation between countries to promote actions to identify and dismantle transnational mafias that control irregular migration. ladies and gentlemen, ecuador is a country of transit origin, reception, refuge and return of

migrants within legal and institutional frameworks that response to these different facets of migration in an effort to guarantee the protection of the human rights of people and mobility. my country has granted recognition of refugee status to 72,000 229 -- 72,229 people. most of them colombian nationals , becoming the country with the largest number of refugees in the region. in recent years, ecuador has also received migrants, many venezuela nationals, being one of the three main recipients of

this immigration in latin america. ecuador did creative process -- it create a process of migration that we hope to benefit half a million residents of venezuela mostly, and some other nationalities. this is essential for those countries receiving migrants. we hope cooperation of the owners strengthen the policies of immigration to benefit this population. finally, i would like to emphasize that the migratory phenomenon is significant and demands joint actions by the groups under the principle of shared responsibility among

countries of the region with respect for the human rights of migrants, norms, international standards, and national legislation of the countries of this region. thank you. [indiscernible conversations] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

[applause]

[indiscernible conversations] >> upon the conclusion of the ninth summative the americas in los angeles, president biden participated in a family photo with leaders of the other countries.