The government of El Salvador is now charging all travellers with African Passports a new fee of $1000.
According to reports, the Central American country imposed the new fees to stem a record flow of migration across the region.
In a statement, the Salvadorean port authorities announced that the new policy would be applied to all passengers on transit starting this November.
The authority argued that the directive is part of government measures to modern transit experience amidst travel volume.
“The Government of President Nayib Bukele is working hard on modernization and expansion projects at the El Salvador International Airport, in order to provide a first-class service to all users and passengers who circulate through the air terminal,” reads a statement from the airport agency.
However, international policy analysts argued that the move was reached to reduce transit volume
“This could be an attempt to reduce secondary travel of travelers coming to El Salvador who then could potentially try to make it to the United States,” said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
Ruiz Soto told Yahoo News that people from many of the countries on the list need to get visas and purchase expensive tickets to travel to El Salvador, so the new measure will likely be an additional barrier for those who see the country as a springboard to the United States.
The list of nations El Salvador published that will see the $1,000 fees includes over 50 countries in continental Africa as well as its offshore island nations, such as the Seychelles and São Tomé and Principe also included.
This move is expected to help US address migration crisis with people using different routes to sneak into the country.
Among policies adopted by the US include building a border wall at Mexico crossing point.
