Roberta Jacobson will step down as coordinator of the southern border of the United States.
The announcement comes amid a boom in the arrival of migrants from Mexico. The official denied that this is related to her decision
The White House coordinator for the border with Mexico, Roberta Jacobson, will leave her post at the end of this month, at the height of undocumented immigrants’ arrival to the border area.
“Ambassador Jacobson was committed from the beginning to work in the first 100 days of the Administration (of President Joe Biden), and therefore, will retire from her role as coordinator at the end of this month,” announced this Friday in a statement the White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Jacobson, who was ambassador to Mexico between 2016 and 2018, also assured that her commitment to the Biden government was always temporary and denied that it had to do with the boom in undocumented immigrants’ arrival to the border in March reached its peak. level in 20 years.
“I am leaving full of optimism. The direction of the policy (immigration that Biden has adopted) is clearly the correct one for our country , ”Jacobson said in an interview with The New York Times.
The one informally known as “border czar” also rejected that his next march had to do with Biden’s decision to entrust the vice president, Kamala Harris, with the mission of curbing irregular migration from Central America, in addition to coordinating with El Salvador. , Honduras and Guatemala.
“I have worked to support the vice president to lead on this issue, and no one could be more delighted than me to see her take on that role. It had nothing to do with my decision, ”he told the Jacobson newspaper, who was also responsible for Latin America at the State Department during the Barack Obama administration (2009-2017).
The diplomat had not mentioned until now her intention to leave the Government at the end of April and, in another interview two weeks ago with The New York Times , she assured that she had plans to travel to Central America to talk about how to tackle the root causes that generate the irregular migration.
His departure came as a surprise because it was announced a day after the US government revealed record numbers of undocumented immigrants’ arrests at the border, with more than 172,000 in the month of March, including almost 19,000 minors, a historical record.
The official statement on his departure suggests that there will probably be no new coordinator for the southern border in the White House, recalling that Biden has commissioned Harris to lead contacts with Mexico and Central America, in “a sign of the importance” that attaches to the subject.
Jacobson’s tasks are likely to be divided between Harris, the head of Latin America at the White House, Juan González, and the head of the Northern Triangle of Central America at the State Department, Ricardo Zúñiga.
Sullivan stated that, during his time in the White House, Jacobson has “shaped the relationship with Mexico as an equal ally, undertaken a renewal of initiatives with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras” and highlighted the Government’s commitment to “the revitalization of the immigration system ”of the United States.
The White House struggles to control the flow of migrants along the southern border with Mexico, which persists an fundamental challenge for Biden. The United States has sent a mixed message to the region, noting that the border is closed but will shelter abandoned children.