Thread: US and Mexico's mass deportations have fueled humanitarian crisis

US and Mexico's mass deportations have fueled humanitarian crisis, report says

Tide of vulnerable people fleeing violence in Central America preyed upon by criminals and corrupt officials in part due to inadequate asylum procedures

A father holds his sleeping son after they and other undocumented immigrants were detained by border patrol agents near Rio Grande City, Texas. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images Nina Lakhani in Mexico City
Wednesday 27 July 2016 20.00 EDT
Last modified on Wednesday 27 July 201620.01 EDT

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Mass deportations and inadequate asylum procedures in Mexico and the US have fueled a humanitarian crisis where desperate Central Americans seeking refuge from rampant violence are routinely preyed upon by criminal gangs and corrupt officials, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The tide of people fleeing Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – three of the five most dangerous countries in the world – continues apace despite beefed-up border control measures implemented after Barack Obama declared the 2014 surge in undocumented migrants a humanitarian crisis. Last year, Mexico deported 165,000 Central Americans, while the US expelled 75,000.

In order to avoid detection, vulnerable people – who include increasing numbers of women and unaccompanied children – are forced to pay higher fees to smugglers, crooked officials, and kidnappers, and use riskier, more isolated routes through Mexico, according to the Easy Prey: Criminal Violence and Central American Migration. Once deported, many simply try again rather than face hunger and violence at home, creating a revolving door of vulnerable migrants and refugees.

US partners with Costa Rica to protect Central American refugees


The report comes after the US, for the first time, recognised that the surge in people currently fleeing Central America includes potential refugees, not just economic migrants. The Obama administration on Tuesday announced a new scheme whereby Costa Rica will offer temporary protection to 200 eligible Central American refugees at a time before they are settled in the US or another country.

Central American migrants sleep atop a moving freight train as it heads north from Arriaga toward Chahuites, Mexico. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

While the news was welcomed as a positive emblematic step by immigrant rights’ groups, there was widespread scepticism about its potential impact amid rapidly rising asylum claims. As violence in the Northern Triangle spiked in 2015, the number of asylum seekers from these countries rose to more than 110,000 – a fivefold increase from 2012. Most seek refuge in Mexico and the US.

Mary Speck, project director for Mexico and Central America at ICG, said: “The [announcement] shows some recognition by the US of this refugee crisis, and it will help some people. But it does nothing to address the major issue of the huge numbers of vulnerable Central Americans already in Mexico and the US.”

As many as 400,000 undocumented migrants cross from Central America into southern Mexico each year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The number detained in Mexico has tripled in the past four years amid growing pressure and economic support from the US to stem the flow. The detention of children and adolescents from the Northern Triangle soared from 4,000 in 2011 to 35,000 in 2015.

But Mexico is increasingly a destination country, not just a transit route. Asylum applications are rising amid information campaigns led by the UN Refugee Agency: 1,470 people applied for asylum in Mexico in the first three months of 2016 – a larger number than in the whole of 2013.

Despite a recent increase in approved asylum claims, drawn-out assessments and inadequate detention facilities mean many who would be eligible either don’t apply or abandon their cases.

Mexico has robust laws but its 15 asylum experts are struggling to cope.

Mexico has the capacity to absorb many more people, but needs international help, according to the ICG.

“The US outsourced its migrant policy to Mexico, and must now work with Mexico to deal with the massive numbers of vulnerable Central Americas here; there is no substitute for this. The mass deportations since 2014 have done nothing to stem the flow of Central Americans. The humanitarian crisis continues, it’s just no longer on the US border,” said Speck.

The ICG report also calls on the US to halt the deportation of undocumented Central American youths by offering Temporary Protected Status (TPS) – which would allow them to work legally – rather than risk sending them back to violent neighborhoods.

TPS is most commonly offered in cases of armed conflict and natural disasters but “providing it to Northern Triangle nationals facing surging criminal violence would be a reasonable step to protect individuals, especially youths, vulnerable to attacks or [gang] recruitment”, the report states.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...entral-america

Time to send in the troops and eliminate these gangs and their drugs. Get it done!

Last year, Mexico deported 165,000 Central Americans, while the US expelled 75,000.

What a hypocrite the Mexican government is. They have no problem standing by or even sending their citizens into our country illegally. However, when it comes to allowing others to immigrate illegally into their country ....... border closed. Of course I know we've all heard of instances where Mexico has actually aided other Central American citizens in their travels to the United States too. I tend to believe most of that only happens when they get to a point of being overwhelmed.

We ALL need to lock down our border. Now they are coming up through Costa Rica and all the countries along the way are paying the price for it. No one wants them.

They land on your shore, or cross your border, turn them right back around. Stop this invasion of our countries.

Originally Posted by MW

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What a hypocrite the Mexican government is. They have no problem standing by or even sending their citizens into our country illegally. . .

Just as the American government has no legal authority to prevent any American citizen from leaving the U.S. any time they want to (unless they have an arrest warrant) Mexican authorities have no legal authority to prevent Mexican citizens from leaving Mexico any time they want to. Just as you can get on a bus or a train and travel towards the Canadian border or the Mexican border and the U.S. government can't stop you the Mexican government can't stop Mexican citizens from traveling towards their border either.

No documents at the border...NO entry! We can stop them from entering undocumented.

Another nation's immigration laws are not responsible in any way, shape or form for any "humanitarian crisis" in another country. That country is totally and 100% responsible for its own humanitarian crisis. Stop blaming innocent countries and start holding the guilty country itself responsible for its own actions, policies and problems.