Welcome to LAWG’s Migration News Brief, a compilation of recent top articles and reports related to issues of U.S. immigration and enforcement policy and migration from Central America and Mexico.
SPOTLIGHT
US ENFORCEMENT
GOP looks for Plan B on Ukraine with border bill looking DOA
Alexander Bolton, The Hill, January 26, 2024
“GOP supporters of aid to Ukraine are beginning to look for a Plan B as they come to grips with the reality that Senate legislation to boost border security and deal with a host of foreign crises is dead in the House.”
Biden Administration Can Remove Texas’ Razor Wire Barrier at the Border, Supreme Court Rules
Suchita Mathur, Immigration Impact, January 23, 2024
“The Supreme Court on Monday finally stepped in to mediate one arena of the feud between the federal government and Texas, issuing a temporary ruling in favor of the Biden administration. The case, filed by Texas in federal district court last year, involves the razor wire that Governor Abbott has put up along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Supreme Court’s order restores some semblance of the status quo by allowing Border Patrol agents to cut or move Texas’ razor wire when they deem it necessary to carry out their official duties. Meanwhile, Texas’ appeal of the district court’s order will proceed at the Fifth Circuit and likely end up back on the Supreme Court’s docket.”
Some Republicans call for Texas to ignore Supreme Court border ruling: ‘Let’s see them enforce it’
Jasper Scherer and Benjamin Wermund, Houston Chronicle, January 23, 2024
“After the Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for federal agents to remove Texas-owned razor wire along the Rio Grande, some conservative lawmakers and commentators suggested a drastic response from the state: defy the court’s ruling. Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park was more explicit, writing, ‘As President Jackson famously said: ‘the Supreme Court has made their decision, now let’s see them enforce it.’ ”
Understanding Regional Migration in an Election Year – WOLA
Adam Isacson, Maureen Meyer, and Stephanie Brewer, WOLA, January 23, 2024
“As congressional negotiations place asylum and other legal protection pathways at risk, and as we approach a 2024 election year with migration becoming a higher priority for voters in the United States, we found it important to discuss the current moment’s complexities. This episode addresses key topics such as the role of organized crime, legal pathways, and US deterrence efforts to reduce immigration.”
In Eagle Pass, a tense border standoff between Texas and the federal government is reaching a crescendo
Uriel J. Garcia, Texas Tribune, January 22, 2024
“The park has turned into a battleground in an escalating legal fight between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott, who for the past three years has convinced state lawmakers to spend more than $10 billion in an attempt to deter hundreds of thousands of migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande into Texas, many of whom are seeking asylum.”
Discussion with Mexican Officials on Migration at the Department of State
U.S State Department, January 20, 2024
“During the meeting, Secretary Blinken and the U.S. delegation noted that our coordinated efforts with Mexico are demonstrating positive results at our shared border. They discussed the positive impact of efforts to increase migration controls on bus and train routes, crack down on criminal smuggling networks, and scale up repatriations for those who do not have a legal basis to remain in our countries.”
Biden at the Three-Year Mark: The Most Active Immigration Presidency Yet Is Mired in Border Crisis Narrative
Muzzaffar Chishti et al., Migration Policy Institute, January 19, 2024
“This article reviews the major immigration actions during the Biden administration’s first three years, focusing on border enforcement, interior enforcement and impacts on U.S. cities, humanitarian protection, the immigration courts, and legal admissions. Also, this report dives into the inefficacy of these policies and Biden administration’s criticisms focused on the lack of a major immigration policy.”
MEXICAN ENFORCEMENT
Integrantes de la Caravana Migrante “Éxodo de la pobreza” denuncian haber sido engañados por el INM
José Luis López, Heraldo de México, 24 de enero de 2024
“Rosa Vázquez, coordinadora de la caravana, indicó que sólo uno de los 10 autobuses llegó a Tierra Blanca, el resto fue llevado a un centro migratorio ubicado en Acayucan, Veracruz, donde los retuvieron durante 5 horas, y se les indicó a los líderes que se entregarán, para que se le permitiera los camiones seguir adelante:, sin embargo, los migrantes que los acompañaban no lo permitieron y decidieron regresar a Oaxaca”.
Agentes del INM acechan y golpean a migrantes en Frontera, denuncian
Lidiet Mexicano, Vanguardia, 25 de enero de 2024
“Alrededor de 40 migrantes, en su mayoría de origen venezolano, se encuentran acogidos en el refugio de la Iglesia el Verbo Encarnado en Frontera, Coahuila, debido a que agentes del Instituto Nacional de Migración les vigila, acecha y esperan que salgan del lugar para golpearlos, amenazarlos y trasladarlos al Centro Migratorio donde preparan su repatriación”.
Mexico: Reject Any New US Border Expulsion Deal
Human Rights Watch, January 19, 2024
“The proposals under consideration include creating a new rule that would allow US immigration officials to expel asylum seekers without hearing their claims, similar to the now-defunct Title 42 border expulsion policy, which ended in May 2023; restricting the humanitarian parole program under which Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans have been allowed to apply for permission to travel legally to the United States; and making permanent a revamped Trump-era “transit ban” rule, requiring asylum seekers who traveled through another country on the way to the US to show proof they already applied for asylum in that country and were rejected.”
ROOT CAUSES
MEXICO
She Looked for Her Missing Brother. Now, People Are Looking for Her.
Emiliano Rodriguez Mega, New York Times, January 25, 2024
“The 55-year-old activist is one of hundreds of women in Mexico who became advocates for the country’s disappeared population after their own loved ones went missing. Ms. Cano’s brother, José Francisco, was abducted in 2018 and never found. Now, she herself has vanished.”
Mexico is plagued by kidnappings among migrants | National Catholic Reporter
David Agren, NCR, January 23, 2024
“Kidnappings have become a true plague, with many migrants falling victims as criminal groups and drug cartels– often in cahoots with police, soldiers and immigration officials– target people without papers. Victims are often abducted while riding intercity buses, but also forced off of freight trains and grabbed in violent border cities. Victims then plead with relatives in their countries of origin or the United States to pay ransoms– usually via wire transfers.”
Mexico demands investigation into US military-grade weapons being used by drug cartels
Independent, January 23, 2024
“Mexico wants an urgent investigation into how U.S. military-grade weapons are increasingly being found in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, Mexico’s top diplomat said Monday. Mexico’s army is finding belt-fed machine guns, rocket launchers and grenades that are not sold for civilian use in the United States.”
Mexico demands investigation into US military-grade weapons being used by drug cartels
AP News, January 22, 2024
“The (Mexican) Defense Department has warned the United States about weapons entering Mexico that are for the exclusive use of the U.S. army,” Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena said. “It is very urgent that an investigation into this be carried out.”
Appeals Court Revives Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gunmakers
Glenn Thrush, The New York Times, January 22, 2024
“A federal appeals panel in Boston ruled on Monday that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico against U.S. gun manufacturers whose weapons are used by drug cartels can proceed, reversing a lower court that had dismissed the case.”
Mexico Says US Army Weapons Being Smuggled Across Border
Barron’s, January 22, 2024
“Mexico said Monday that US military weapons had been detected entering the Latin American nation, which blames firearms trafficking from its northern neighbor for fueling drug cartel-related violence. The Mexican defense ministry has alerted Washington about inflows of arms that are supposed to be ‘for the exclusive use of the US army,’ Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said at a news conference.”
Construcción de paz: Una agenda binacional
Clara Jusidman, La Silla Rota, 17 de enero 2024
“Frente a la difundida y creciente violencia en nuestro país se están desarrollando varios esfuerzos para construir agendas de paz y proponerlas a quienes se disputarán la presidencia, las gubernaturas y las presidencias municipales en nuestro país”.
México habla sobre derechos humanos – Informe General
Colectivo EPUmx, Examen Periódico Universal México 2024
“El Colectivo EPUmx es una coalición de organizaciones, redes y colectivos de sociedad civil nacionales, estatales e internacionales que trabajan en el ámbito de los derechos humanos en México. El Colectivo se aglutina alrededor de los ciclos de evaluación de México ante el Examen Periódico Universal y sus integrantes han presentado contribuciones conjuntas desde el primer ciclo sobre el país en 2009”.
GUATEMALA
Caravana de migrantes que buscaba llegar a EE.UU. se desintegra en Guatemala luego de ser detenida por PNC
Prensa Libre, 21 de enero de 2024
“Un grupo de más de 300 migrantes, la mayoría venezolanos, buscaban llegar a Estados Unidos atravesando Guatemala, pero fueron detenidos por la PNC. Algunos lograron seguir su camino, pero la mayoría volvió a Honduras”.
Vicepresidenta Karin Herrera se reúne con la Autoridad Migratoria Nacional para coordinar acciones ante caravana de migrantes
Ana Lucia Ola, Prensa Libre, 21 de enero de 2024
“Este domingo quedó disuelta en Guatemala una caravana de unos 500 migrantes, cuyo destino final era Estados Unidos. Esta llegó al país desde Honduras, según el Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración (IGM). En ese contexto se desarrolló este día la primera reunión de la Autoridad Migratoria Nacional, presidida por la vicepresidenta Karin Herrera. Esta tuvo como objetivo definir un plan de acción ante las movilizaciones masivas”.
Atrapados en Guatemala: el viaje suspendido de los migrantes venezolanos
Simona Carlino, El País, 23 de enero de 2024
“El país centroamericano es un limbo para cientos de personas que no tienen recursos para avanzar a Estados Unidos o para regresar al sur. Quedan a merced de la caridad y de empleos precarios para seguir financiando su sueño”.
EE UU sanciona a Giammattei por corrupción tres días después de dejar la presidencia de Guatemala
Lorena Arroyo, El País, 17 de enero de 2024
“El Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos sancionó este miércoles al expresidente de Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei y le prohibió su entrada al país por “su involucramiento en significativos actos de corrupción”.
EL SALVADOR
Nearly One Million Salvadorans on the Verge of Starvation
Julia Gavarrete, El Faro, January 19, 2024
“Almost a sixth of the Salvadoran population cannot afford to buy meat, eggs, or dairy products. For the country’s poorest families, even rice is not an option. Corn and beans are the daily fare for those who can grow them. In the past three years, 210,456 people have fallen into extreme poverty, meaning they do not make enough to cover the costs of basic staples, and rarely, if ever, eat three meals a day. Some 907,000 Salvadorans suffer severe food insecurity, struggling to survive on the brink of starvation.”
32nd Anniversary of 1992 Peace Accords
El Salvador Perspectives, January 16th, 2024
“January 16 marks the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords which ended El Salvador’s 12 year long bloody civil war. There is no official celebration of the end of that conflict by the government of Nayib Bukele, the country’s president who labels the accords “a farce.”
Evaluación ciudadana del año 2023 y percepciones en torno a las elecciones 2024
CEOP de FUNDAUNGO, Enero 2024
“Este boletín presenta los resultados de la tercera ronda del “Panel Electoral: El Salvador 2022-2024”,
que fue desarrollada entre el 11 de noviembre y el 14 de diciembre de 2023 y estuvo conformada por
dos muestras. El boletín se estructura en las siguientes secciones: 1) percepciones sobre el rumbo del país; 2) evaluación del trabajo de la Asamblea Legislativa, Concejos Municipales y Presidencia de la República; 3) satisfacción con los servicios públicos municipales; 4) actitudes hacia la democracia; 5) confianza ciudadana en el proceso electoral 2024; 6) consumo de medios de comunicación para informarse sobre política; 7) política e intención de voto para las elecciones de 2024; y 8) otros temas de coyuntura nacional”.
HONDURAS
Diecisiete ultimadas en primeros días de 2024
Diario La Tribuna, 25 de enero 2024
“El 25 de enero se conmemora en honor a la primera vez que las mujeres, en Honduras, obtuvieron el derecho al voto en 1955. La efeméride simboliza la lucha por la igualdad de derechos y la participación activa de las mujeres en la vida política y social del país. El recuento indicaba que hasta ayer este año sumaban 17 mujeres ultimadas y las víctimas, en su mayoría, son féminas que dejan hijos, madres, hermanos, amigos y una sociedad indiferente que ve cómo se normaliza la violencia, según el reporte del medio Proceso Digital.”
Hondureñas exigen cero impunidad en feminicidios
Diario La Tribuna, 25 de enero 2024
“Grupos feministas se manifestaron frente al Congreso Nacional y la Corte Suprema de Justicia (CSJ), para exigir cero impunidad en los feminicidios que se registran a diario en el país.”
Presidente de patronato denuncia amenazas a muerte
Diario La Tribuna, 24 de enero 2024
“El presidente de la junta directiva del patronato de la comunidad garífuna de Triunfo de la Cruz, Tulio Enrique Martínez, denunció estar amenazado a muerte por un grupo de invasores de tierras.”
Honduras ex-president gets new lawyer after DEA ‘infiltration’ claim
Luc Cohen, Reuters, January 23, 2024
“A U.S. judge on Tuesday appointed a new lawyer to represent Juan Orlando Hernandez and delayed his drug trafficking trial a week after the former Honduran president claimed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sent a rabbi to ‘infiltrate’ his defense team.”
Caravana de 500 migrantes parte desde Honduras con dirección al norte: México y EU
Zona Franca, 20 de enero de 2024
“Unos 500 migrantes hondureños salieron caminando la madrugada de este sábado desde San Pedro Sula, en el norte del país, con dirección a Estados Unidos, en lo que constituye el primer grupo de estas características desde enero de 2022”.
REGIONAL
Haiti’s gang wars death toll doubles to nearly 5,000 in a year -UN
Reuters, January 23, 2024
“The number of people reported killed as Haiti faces a worsening conflict between heavily armed gangs increased by more than 110% last year to reach 4,789, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report published on Tuesday.”
Ecuador enfrenta una tarea complicada en su guerra contra las pandillas
Anastasia Austin, Insight Crime, 19 de enero, 2024
“Las numerosas pandillas de Ecuador cuentan con una presencia territorial significativa y diversas fuentes de financiación que supondrán un desafío formidable para las débiles instituciones del país, en lo que probablemente será un prolongado conflicto entre el crimen organizado y el Estado”.
Emergency Measures Trump Democracy and Human Rights in Argentina
Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli, WOLA, January 17, 2024
“In his first speech as President of Argentina on December 10, Javier Milei made clear he would immediately be implementing radical economic and political changes. He indicated that Argentines should brace themselves since this “shock therapy” was a necessary evil that needed to be endured until the economy improved. Milei is resorting to a ‘mega decree’ to advance his agenda that will undermine democracy and human rights.”
GENDER AND LGBTQ+
Wave of transgender slayings in Mexico spurs anger and protests by LGBTQ+ community
Megan Janetsky, AP News, January 15, 2024
“Authorities in Mexico said at least three transgender people were killed in the first two weeks of 2024, and rights groups were investigating two additional such cases. The slayings marked a violent start to the year in a country where the LGBTQ+ community is often targeted.”
ACTIONS, ALERTS, AND RESOURCES
What we know about the Biden Administration’s Safe Mobility Initiative
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), January 18, 2024
“This report reflects information that IRAP learned through site visits and talking to stakeholders in government and civil society in the United States and Latin America. At this time, SMOs only facilitate pathways for resettlement or admission to the United States that existed prior to the SMO’s establishment. IRAP understands that the U.S. government and its partners may wish to expand both the pathways offered through theS MOs and the SMO’s role in submitting such applications in the future.”
MIRPS 2023 Annual Report of the Comprehensive Projection and Solutions Framework
The Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS), January 2024
“This report indicates that in 2023, Central America and Mexico faced unprecedented challenges in terms of human mobility and displacement, with 1,855,300 million people forcibly displaced due to insecurity, violence, poverty, climate change, and disasters. The number of refugees and asylum-seekers increased significantly, reaching 592,000 by June 2023. Countries like Mexico and Costa Rica experienced a surge in people seeking international protection, straining their capacities in education and healthcare. The region focused on strengthening mechanisms for registration, documentation, and case management to address the risks faced by displaced persons, with collaborative efforts from MIRPS states.”
* The Migration News Brief is a selection of relevant news articles, all of which do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Latin America Working Group.
P.S. Do you know of someone who might be interested in receiving the Migration News Brief? Tell them to email tdelmoral@lawg.org
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