US, Mexico meet after deal on Venezuelan migrants

Most Venezuelan migrants trying to enter the United States from Mexico will be sent back under a deal announced as the neighbors held high-level talks Thursday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are holding a day of talks with their Mexican counterparts in Washington that will touch broadly on cooperation between the two countries.

The number of Venezuelans seeking to reach the United States has soared amid an implosion of the economy in the leftist-ruled South American country.

Under an arrangement announced Wednesday, the United States will send all Venezuelans who try to walk or swim into the United States back to Mexico, declaring them ineligible for admission.

The deal mirrors a controversial push by former president Donald Trump to keep Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence inside Mexico while their claims are processed.

But President Joe Biden's administration said it would also let some 24,000 Venezuelans enter lawfully if they have support in the United States and pass vetting.

"These actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way," Mayorkas said in a statement.

The accord to let in Venezuelans at airports is in line with how the United States admits Ukrainians who have fled since the Russian invasion.

Nearly six million Venezuelans have fled their country with 2.4 million in neighboring Colombia, according to UN figures.