WASHINGTON

The US said Tuesday that it is stepping up efforts against those "preying" on migrants as it tries to protect migrant workers from exploitation.

"We’ve stepped up efforts against those preying on vulnerable migrants," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a meeting in Guatemala of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.

Washington announced a new visa restriction policy in February that targets individuals who knowingly provide transportation, including through charter flights arriving in Nicaragua, to irregular migrants coming to the US, Blinken noted.

"Yesterday, we announced visa restrictions on executives of Colombian maritime migration companies who were facilitating irregular migration,” he noted.

"We’re redoubling our efforts to protect migrant workers from exploitation," Blinken said, adding the US is joining the International Labor Organization’s Fair Recruitment Initiative, which helps ensure that cross-border recruitment efforts promote gender equality and prevent human trafficking and forced labor.

"We encourage others to join this initiative as well," he added.