Spain and Canada need labor and have indicated that they are willing to accept immigrants from Latin America as well as other countries in a move that would ease pressure on the United States.
On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is in talks with US President Joe Biden to cooperate in reaching an agreement on immigration and seeking to form a united front on the war in Ukraine.
Along with Canada, the United States will seek a deal with Spain over immigration centers in Latin America, so that migrants can leave their countries to escape poverty and violence.
Meanwhile, Spain and Canada need labor and have indicated they are willing to accept immigrants from Latin America as well as other countries in a move that would ease pressure on the United States, which is facing an influx of immigrants along its border with Mexico.
The war between Russia and Ukraine will also impose itself heavily on the talks at the White House.
Spain will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for a period of six months next July, and will lead the European Union in efforts to establish peace.
The Biden administration ended pandemic controls along its border with Mexico, and unveiled new immigration measures that are expected to change the way migrants arrive at the US-Mexico border.
Currently, those caught trying to cross the US border illegally cannot return for five years and face criminal prosecution.
A series of migrant centers have been set up in Colombia and Guatemala but are not yet operational. Up to 100 more centers will be set up in other countries where migrants can apply to come to Canada, Spain and the United States.
Political victory
For the White House, convincing Spain and Canada to take in the migrants would be a political victory, since the Biden administration views the immigration crisis facing the Americas as a global problem that needs a global solution.
In this context, Carlota García Encina, a specialist in US-Spanish relations, told Euronews that the immigration deal is important for both the United States and Spain.
She added, “The United States considers the problem of immigration a global problem, so it is important that other countries such as Spain and Canada share their point of view on this subject.”
Spain, like many other countries, needs workers and will be able to select immigrants who have the necessary skills in the country.
Madrid said the path would only apply to those who had already been granted international protection status. This means that the migrants it will accept will need to be considered refugees and will be treated in the same way as Syrian asylum seekers were previously treated.
