A woman carries her child after she crossed the Rio Grande and entered the US from Mexico to be processed by US Customs and Border Protection, Saturday, September 23, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP)

Migrants may be sent to EU countries when applying for asylum at US outposts in Latin America according to CBS News, citing anonymous sources and documents derived from the US Department of Homeland Security.

"Safe Mobility Offices" (SMO) have been established by the US in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala since last year to reduce illegal border crossings by allowing people to apply for immigration legally.

Documents show that arrangements have been made with Spain and Canada to take some migrants in, while one source told CBS that even though it hasn't been announced yet, Greece and Italy would likely take in “roughly 500 or fewer” migrants each.

A State Department spokesperson relayed that “we are in diplomatic discussions with other countries about joining this initiative to expand lawful pathways for resettlement, but have no additional information to share at this time.”

The State Department believes that the SMOs have “enabled a six-fold increase in the number of refugees resettled from the Western Hemisphere.”

Proving persecution

CBS further cited US government documents displaying that “roughly 10,000 migrants” have been processed through the Refugee Admissions Program, which required them to provide proof that they were escaping persecution due to political views, religion, or “other factors.”

The Guatemala SMO office processes only requests from Guatemalans, while Nicaraguans and Venezuelans apply in Costa Rica, the Colombia office processes claims by Cubans, Haitians, and Venezuelans, and the SMO in Ecuador processes requests by Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Colombians.

It may be expected that the migrants sent from the US to Italy or Greece, known as "frontline" countries, may end up in other EU nations, especially after the most recent EU reforms – prompted by the significant influx of migrants since 2015 from regions like Syria and Afghanistan – aim to strengthen border controls and distribute the responsibility for migrants among all EU member states.

The reforms, which were narrowly passed ahead of the EU elections that could see a shift towards the right, will be implemented in 2026, and include the establishment of new border centers to process asylum requests and quicker deportations for those not eligible.

Additionally, EU nations must either accept asylum-seekers from "frontline" countries like Italy and Greece, or contribute financially to those countries.

A wave of illegal border crossings in recent months has made migration a key talking point in the US presidential election campaign once again, with Republicans seeking to blame the record-high numbers entirely on Democratic President Joe Biden.