Trump officials closing immigration offices Biden set up in Latin America

Washington — The Trump administration is shutting down processing offices in Latin America that the Biden administration set up to give migrants legal immigration options and dissuade them from crossing the southern border illegally, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News.

The offices, established in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala, had allowed certain migrants living in or passing through those countries to apply for programs that would allow them to enter the U.S. legally.

The internal State Department documents said the Trump administration is ceasing operations at those locations, known as “Safe Mobility Initiative” offices, as part of a “broader effort to assess how the United States manages migration processes to serve U.S. national interests.”

The documents also cited President Trump’s executive order that suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which allows some people fleeing war and persecution overseas to come to the U.S. after rounds of interviews, and security and medical screenings.

First announced in May 2023, the Safe Mobility Offices were regional brick-and-mortar hubs for the U.S. to determine whether migrants qualify for different options to enter the U.S. legally, including the refugee program, family-based visas, work visas or an immigration benefit known as humanitarian parole. 

Some migrants were also vetted for resettlement in Canada and Spain, as those countries agreed to be part of the U.S.-led initiative.

The Biden administration argued that these legal immigration pathways, paired with asylum restrictions, would discourage people in Latin America from trekking to the U.S. border. 

CBS News reached out to the State Department for comment.  

Camilo Montoya-Galvez

Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the immigration reporter at CBS News. Based in Washington, he covers immigration policy and politics.