Baltimore Sun: Organizations that help undocumented children find homes in Maryland say there has been a spike in the number of unaccompanied minors from Central America reaching the U.S. border — to the highest levels since the surge of 2014.
Advocates expect the influx to have a disproportionate impact in Maryland, home to a large population of Central American families, with whom these minors are likely to be placed. During the last wave of unaccompanied Central American children, federal officials reported that Maryland took in more of them on a per capita basis than any other state. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label immigration - Central Americans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immigration - Central Americans. Show all posts
Oct 7, 2015
Flow of Central American Children Headed to U.S. Shifts but Doesn’t Slow
NY Times: The recent images of tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers streaming into Europe recall a smaller but significant migration crisis unfolding along the southern border of the United States: Waves of Central American migrants — many of them children — were detained at the border last year.
A disturbing number of unaccompanied children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have tried to reach the United States in the past two years, risking detention by law enforcement, abuse by human traffickers and dire conditions along the way.
A disturbing number of unaccompanied children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have tried to reach the United States in the past two years, risking detention by law enforcement, abuse by human traffickers and dire conditions along the way.
Jul 28, 2015
Mexico Rescues 68 Central American Migrants Abandoned in 2 Trucks
Latin American Herald Tribune: A total of 68 undocumented Central American migrants were rescued from two trucks in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz, immigration officials and police said.
The migrants showed signs of dehydration when they were rescued by state police officers, having spent more than 10 hours inside the vehicles in 30 C (86 F) weather. Read more.
The migrants showed signs of dehydration when they were rescued by state police officers, having spent more than 10 hours inside the vehicles in 30 C (86 F) weather. Read more.
Jun 28, 2015
Child migrant crisis endures on Mexico's south border
AFP: His face lit up every time he mentioned his destination -- the United States -- but like many Central American children, Juan's dream ended abruptly when Mexican officers caught him riding a freight train.
The willowy 16-year-old boy's story is the same as that of thousands of minors from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala who are still crossing Mexico's southern border alone despite a crackdown on illegal migration. Read more.
The willowy 16-year-old boy's story is the same as that of thousands of minors from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala who are still crossing Mexico's southern border alone despite a crackdown on illegal migration. Read more.
Dec 11, 2014
Central America ready to commit $5 bln to migration plan -Guatemala
Reuters: Three Central American nations that have sent a flood of migrants to the United States are ready to provide $5 billion between them to match a sum Washington says may be needed to help solve the problem, Guatemala's president said on Tuesday.
Struggling to stop the migrant exodus that sparked a crisis in the summer, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador presented U.S. officials with a plan in September to boost their economic growth with infrastructure investment. Read more.
Struggling to stop the migrant exodus that sparked a crisis in the summer, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador presented U.S. officials with a plan in September to boost their economic growth with infrastructure investment. Read more.
Sep 4, 2014
Many Mexican child migrants caught multiple times at border
Pew Research Center: With the surge in unaccompanied children apprehended at the Southwest border, much has been written about the unusually high numbers of kids arriving from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The number of apprehensions of Mexican child migrants rivals those of the other three countries, but many of those caught are ones who tried to cross multiple times — meaning that the total number of child migrants from Mexico is lower compared with the Central American nations.
Out of the more than 11,000 apprehensions of unaccompanied Mexican minors during this fiscal year (October 1 through May 31), only 2,700 children (24% of all the apprehensions) reported being apprehended for the first time in their lives, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Mexican government data obtained from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The other three quarters of the apprehensions were of children who reported that they had been apprehended multiple times before — 15% were of children who had been apprehended at least six times. Read more.
Out of the more than 11,000 apprehensions of unaccompanied Mexican minors during this fiscal year (October 1 through May 31), only 2,700 children (24% of all the apprehensions) reported being apprehended for the first time in their lives, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Mexican government data obtained from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The other three quarters of the apprehensions were of children who reported that they had been apprehended multiple times before — 15% were of children who had been apprehended at least six times. Read more.
Sep 2, 2014
Mexico authorities stage midnight migrant raid
AP: The lumbering freight train known as "The Beast," a key part of the route for migrants heading north to the United States, rolled to an abrupt, unscheduled stop in the black of midnight.
Mexican federal police and immigration agents had waited silently in the brush alongside for at least hour, visible only by the glint of their powerful flashlights. Read more.
Mexican federal police and immigration agents had waited silently in the brush alongside for at least hour, visible only by the glint of their powerful flashlights. Read more.
Sep 1, 2014
A failed journey: Central American migrants turned back before US border
Christian Science Monitor: When 5-year-old Georgina first saw her older brother and cousin descend from the bus that brought them back from Mexico, she let out a joyful scream.
But her aunt sobbed and her mother couldn’t bear to look. For them, the return of Ismael and Abraham – after just eight days en route to the United States – marked a quick and painful defeat for their family. They had mortgaged their home to pay $8,000 for a coyote to smuggle the cousins to the US. Read more.
But her aunt sobbed and her mother couldn’t bear to look. For them, the return of Ismael and Abraham – after just eight days en route to the United States – marked a quick and painful defeat for their family. They had mortgaged their home to pay $8,000 for a coyote to smuggle the cousins to the US. Read more.
Aug 28, 2014
Mexico officials pull CentAm migrants from trains
AP: U.S.-bound Central Americans are fleeing urban areas and hiking into the woods and low jungle for fear of being detained by Mexican officials rounding up migrants in southern Mexico.
Until recently, the streets of Arriaga bustled with migrants who would stay at cheap flophouses and shelters and hop aboard the northbound freight trains at will. The streets of the city of about 40,000 people now look empty. Read more.
Until recently, the streets of Arriaga bustled with migrants who would stay at cheap flophouses and shelters and hop aboard the northbound freight trains at will. The streets of the city of about 40,000 people now look empty. Read more.
Aug 9, 2014
Guatemala-Mexico Agreement on Migrants in Baja Signed
Frontera NorteSur: Guatemalan and Mexican authorities have signed an agreement to provide greater assistance to Guatemalan migrants in Baja California, Mexico.
Alejandra Gordillo, executive director of the National Council for Assistance to Guatemalan Migrants (Conamigua), estimated that upwards of 3,500 Guatemalan migrants are residing in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana alone, virtually stranded without work or adequate economic support.
“We are interested in making the problem visible, because we’ve seen the efforts of Mexico on the southern border,” Gordillo said during a visit to Tijuana this week. “Now we want to know the problem on the northern border so we can take actions.”
Alejandra Gordillo, executive director of the National Council for Assistance to Guatemalan Migrants (Conamigua), estimated that upwards of 3,500 Guatemalan migrants are residing in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana alone, virtually stranded without work or adequate economic support.
“We are interested in making the problem visible, because we’ve seen the efforts of Mexico on the southern border,” Gordillo said during a visit to Tijuana this week. “Now we want to know the problem on the northern border so we can take actions.”
Jul 22, 2014
The process Congress wants to use for child migrants is a disaster
Vox: Congress and the Obama administration are scrambling to respond to the humanitarian crisis of 57,000 unaccompanied Central American children who've crossed the border into the US this year.
One policy change that Republicans are expected to demand (in order to give the Obama administration the $3.7 billion in emergency funding it's asked for) has actually gotten the support of members of Congress from both parties, and encouraging hints from the White House. That change: updating a 2008 law so that Central American children could be returned to their home countries as quickly as Mexican children are today. Read more.
One policy change that Republicans are expected to demand (in order to give the Obama administration the $3.7 billion in emergency funding it's asked for) has actually gotten the support of members of Congress from both parties, and encouraging hints from the White House. That change: updating a 2008 law so that Central American children could be returned to their home countries as quickly as Mexican children are today. Read more.
Jul 11, 2014
Kids First: A Response to the Southern Border Humanitarian Crisis (Congressional Progressive Caucus)
Congressional Progressive Caucus: The United States and the international community have long recognized the unique needs of children seeking asylum. As an extremely vulnerable population, unaccompanied migrant children need special care and protection. We must not allow politics to jeopardize any child’s safety and we should immediately reject attempts to solve the migration crisis on our southern border by circumventing due process or rule of law. Calls for expediting removal of children without due process, back to the violence they have escaped, is an attempt to simplify a complex situation and it is a derelict of U.S. responsibility under international standards. When examining the reasons for migration, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) found nearly 60 percent of children had fled violence and were in need of international protection. Only two of 404 children interviewed reported that they had traveled to the U.S. because of rumors of potential immigration reform.
An effective response must recognize that this is largely a refugee crisis and must place the best interest of the children first. Abrogation or repeal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act,
including the protections to children arriving from non-contiguous countries, will do nothing to alleviate the situation and could place children in harm’s way. Read more.
An effective response must recognize that this is largely a refugee crisis and must place the best interest of the children first. Abrogation or repeal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act,
including the protections to children arriving from non-contiguous countries, will do nothing to alleviate the situation and could place children in harm’s way. Read more.
'Nobody's Children' at the Mexico-U.S. Border (La Prensa, Honduras)
WorldMeets (La Prensa): The tears of those now in government, who listen to the stories of children who have made it to the United States in search of a better life, are tears of hypocrisy. Such stories have been known for over two decades, starting when an easy solution could have been found to a problem that now seems to constrain some people's souls. The distressing phenomenon of migrant children was reported by Casa Alianza over 20 years ago, but there has never been the political will on the part of any government.
What compels migrant children to undertake the perilous journey is the certainty that they would die of hunger or violence if they remained in homes stricken by a poverty that killed their parents and forced them emigrate. It is despair over a promised future that was never fulfilled. Making the trip puts their lives at risk, but there is hope of getting through, whereas to stay means being resigned to die. Read more.
What compels migrant children to undertake the perilous journey is the certainty that they would die of hunger or violence if they remained in homes stricken by a poverty that killed their parents and forced them emigrate. It is despair over a promised future that was never fulfilled. Making the trip puts their lives at risk, but there is hope of getting through, whereas to stay means being resigned to die. Read more.
Mexico is Doing 'Nothing' as Migration Issue Spirals (Excelsior, Mexico)
WorldsMeets (Excelsior): In recent weeks there has been renewed attention paid to a phenomenon that for years has been a scourge for Latin American peoples, and for decades the people of the United States have felt its ramifications: the migration of thousands of people toward North America.
The issue began to be mentioned with greater frequency after the alarming rise in the number of unaccompanied children venturing across the Mexico-U.S. border caught the attention of U.S. President Barack Obama. They are detained, with some placed in migration centers, and others deported to their countries of origin. Read more.
The issue began to be mentioned with greater frequency after the alarming rise in the number of unaccompanied children venturing across the Mexico-U.S. border caught the attention of U.S. President Barack Obama. They are detained, with some placed in migration centers, and others deported to their countries of origin. Read more.
Jun 10, 2014
'Not Since Slavery' Has U.S. Treated People Worse than Undocumented (La Jornada, Mexico)
La Jornada – Original Article (Spanish)
Translated By Florizul Acosta Perez
WorldMeets.US
June 9, 2014
According to Princeton University Professor Douglas Massey, the millions of undocumented migrants living in the United States with no respect for their civil, social or political liberties, constitute the largest population living under such conditions since the formal end of slavery in the neighboring country, in 1863.
The comparison is a painful one, but an accurate one to characterize the abuse and mistreatment our brothers and sisters are subjected to every day in the neighboring country, and in general, foreign nationals who reside there without the corresponding immigration documents.
Indeed, migration is a phenomenon as old as our species and inherent to human societies, but in the 21st century, the phenomenon is driven by poverty, lack of employment, and an absence of social mobility or positive horizons in countries like ours, where one can throw in police brutality, which is not at all ameliorated by guarantees of individual or human rights, and is dedicated to criminalizing and persecuting people who are overwhelmingly innocents.
Translated By Florizul Acosta Perez
WorldMeets.US
June 9, 2014
According to Princeton University Professor Douglas Massey, the millions of undocumented migrants living in the United States with no respect for their civil, social or political liberties, constitute the largest population living under such conditions since the formal end of slavery in the neighboring country, in 1863.
The comparison is a painful one, but an accurate one to characterize the abuse and mistreatment our brothers and sisters are subjected to every day in the neighboring country, and in general, foreign nationals who reside there without the corresponding immigration documents.
Indeed, migration is a phenomenon as old as our species and inherent to human societies, but in the 21st century, the phenomenon is driven by poverty, lack of employment, and an absence of social mobility or positive horizons in countries like ours, where one can throw in police brutality, which is not at all ameliorated by guarantees of individual or human rights, and is dedicated to criminalizing and persecuting people who are overwhelmingly innocents.
Jun 6, 2014
Leaked Images Reveal Children Warehoused In Crowded U.S. Cells, Border Patrol Overwhelmed
Breitbart Texas
By Brandon Darby
June 5, 2014
Houston, Texas - Breitbart Texas obtained internal federal government photos depicting the conditions of foreign children warehoused by authorities on U.S. soil on Wednesday night. Thousands of illegal immigrants have overrun U.S. border security and their processing centers in Texas along the U.S./Mexico border. Unaccompanied minors, including young girls under the age of 12, are making the dangerous journey from Central America and Mexico, through cartel-controlled territories, and across the porous border onto U.S. soil.
The photos illuminate the conditions of the U.S. Border Patrol’s processing centers, as well as the overwhelming task Border Patrol is facing.
Breitbart Texas Border Expert and Contributing Editor Sylvia Longmire reviewed the photos.
“Given the deteriorating security and economic conditions in the Central American countries where most of these children and adult immigrants came from, it's hard to understand how DHS didn't see this coming,” Longmire said. “The trend towards increased cross-border movement towards south Texas and away from Arizona has been apparent; the trend of Central Americans starting to outnumber Mexican crossers has been apparent. Even worse is believing that DHS knew this was coming, but didn't have the resources or ability to cut through bureaucratic red tape to prepare more quickly. Read more.
By Brandon Darby
June 5, 2014
The photos illuminate the conditions of the U.S. Border Patrol’s processing centers, as well as the overwhelming task Border Patrol is facing.
Breitbart Texas Border Expert and Contributing Editor Sylvia Longmire reviewed the photos.
“Given the deteriorating security and economic conditions in the Central American countries where most of these children and adult immigrants came from, it's hard to understand how DHS didn't see this coming,” Longmire said. “The trend towards increased cross-border movement towards south Texas and away from Arizona has been apparent; the trend of Central Americans starting to outnumber Mexican crossers has been apparent. Even worse is believing that DHS knew this was coming, but didn't have the resources or ability to cut through bureaucratic red tape to prepare more quickly. Read more.
May 31, 2014
Migrants dropped off at bus stations in Arizona
Chron
By Astrid Galvan
By the time the women arrived disheveled and hungry at the Greyhound station in Phoenix, they had already spent weeks traveling thousands of miles with young children in tow.
Ranging from months old to adolescents, some of the children were sick and lethargic. Others played gleefully at arcade games in the crowded waiting room of the bus station.
The families were apprehended in Texas, flown to Arizona and dropped off by the busload at the station in Phoenix by federal immigration authorities overwhelmed by a surge of families caught crossing the Mexican border into the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
It was signal of a shift in immigration that has seen the Rio Grande Valley surpass Tucson as the leader in border apprehensions, overwhelming border agents in Texas. The trend is being driven by a huge increase in the number of immigrants from Central America.
Yet while the number of apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley vastly surpasses those in the Tucson sector in Arizona, the area has fewer agents. From October 2013 to May 17, agents in the Rio Grande Valley made more than 148,000 arrests, compared with 63,000 arrests in the Tucson sector. But the Rio Grande Valley has about 1,000 fewer agents than Tucson. Read more.
By Astrid Galvan
Ranging from months old to adolescents, some of the children were sick and lethargic. Others played gleefully at arcade games in the crowded waiting room of the bus station.
The families were apprehended in Texas, flown to Arizona and dropped off by the busload at the station in Phoenix by federal immigration authorities overwhelmed by a surge of families caught crossing the Mexican border into the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
It was signal of a shift in immigration that has seen the Rio Grande Valley surpass Tucson as the leader in border apprehensions, overwhelming border agents in Texas. The trend is being driven by a huge increase in the number of immigrants from Central America.
Yet while the number of apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley vastly surpasses those in the Tucson sector in Arizona, the area has fewer agents. From October 2013 to May 17, agents in the Rio Grande Valley made more than 148,000 arrests, compared with 63,000 arrests in the Tucson sector. But the Rio Grande Valley has about 1,000 fewer agents than Tucson. Read more.
Aug 4, 2013
On Location Video: Mexico's drug cartels recruit migrant labor
GlobalPost
By: Deborah Bonello
August 4, 2013
Mexico — As the US Congress mulls legislation to increase fencing and manpower on the United States southern border, migrants from Central America face increasing perils as they cross Mexico. The Mexican crackdown on drug trafficking, partly financed by the US government, is prompting criminal gangs to exploit other revenue streams such as kidnapping and extortion. And these gangs are now tapping migrant streams for new recruits. Those fleeing poverty back home find it hard to resist the lure of a life of crime, and some are being given no choice. Watch here.
By: Deborah Bonello
August 4, 2013
Mexico — As the US Congress mulls legislation to increase fencing and manpower on the United States southern border, migrants from Central America face increasing perils as they cross Mexico. The Mexican crackdown on drug trafficking, partly financed by the US government, is prompting criminal gangs to exploit other revenue streams such as kidnapping and extortion. And these gangs are now tapping migrant streams for new recruits. Those fleeing poverty back home find it hard to resist the lure of a life of crime, and some are being given no choice. Watch here.
Anarchy along Mexico's southern border crossings
LA Times
By Richard Fausset
August 3, 2013
CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico — The Mexican government is pledging to bring order to its wild southern border. The stakes couldn't be higher, and the job couldn't be more difficult.
The proof lies in this dusty border town of 14,000 people. Here, unmonitored goods and travelers float across the wide Suchiate River — the boundary between Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas — on a flotilla of inner-tube rafts. They cross all day long, in plain sight of Mexican authorities stationed a few yards upriver at an official border crossing.
Some of the Central Americans are visiting just for the day. Others are hoping to find work on Mexican coffee plantations or banana farms. But many will continue north toward the United States. Read more.
By Richard Fausset
August 3, 2013
CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico — The Mexican government is pledging to bring order to its wild southern border. The stakes couldn't be higher, and the job couldn't be more difficult.
The proof lies in this dusty border town of 14,000 people. Here, unmonitored goods and travelers float across the wide Suchiate River — the boundary between Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas — on a flotilla of inner-tube rafts. They cross all day long, in plain sight of Mexican authorities stationed a few yards upriver at an official border crossing.
Some of the Central Americans are visiting just for the day. Others are hoping to find work on Mexican coffee plantations or banana farms. But many will continue north toward the United States. Read more.
Jul 16, 2013
In Mexico, rails are risky crossing for a new wave of Central American migrants
Washington Post
By Nick Miroff
July 15, 2013
Central Americans have been catching freight trains to the U.S. border for years, risking injury or worse for a free ride and a path clear of Mexican government checkpoints. But at a time when illegal immigration to the United States remains near its lowest point in four decades, the number of Central Americans going north has soared, putting new attention on the rail system that takes thousands to the border each year. Read more.
By Nick Miroff
July 15, 2013
Central Americans have been catching freight trains to the U.S. border for years, risking injury or worse for a free ride and a path clear of Mexican government checkpoints. But at a time when illegal immigration to the United States remains near its lowest point in four decades, the number of Central Americans going north has soared, putting new attention on the rail system that takes thousands to the border each year. Read more.
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