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
Civil Society Letter to President Biden and President Andres Manuel López Obrador on Regional Migration
Latin America Working Group and 86 partners, July 11, 2022
“We, the undersigned 87 organizations committed to human rights, migrant, and refugee rights, are writing ahead of your bilateral meeting at the White House to urge you to center your discussion of migration on human rights, protection, and expansion of legal pathways. While migration across the hemisphere poses challenges, the United States and Mexico can and should be leaders in the protection of migrants and refugees and make reality the rights respecting commitments in the four pillars of the recently signed Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.”
U.S. ENFORCEMENT
Biden administration extends TPS protection for Venezuelans
Al Jazeera, July 11, 2022
“The United States has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuela for an additional 18 months, shielding Venezuelans residing in the US as of early March 2021 from potential deportation.”
Mistakes plague identification of migrants who died in Texas truck
Jackie Botts, Reuters, July 5, 2022
“A week after 53 migrants died in a sweltering trailer in San Antonio, Texas, some of their nationalities are still unclear, highlighting the challenges that officials from at least four different countries face in identifying the victims of the deadliest U.S. human smuggling tragedy on record.”
Activists have more questions after Border Patrol investigation of Del Rio incident
Alisa Reznick, KJZZ Fronteras Desk, July 13, 2022
“A report from Customs and Border Protection says Border Patrol agents used unnecessary force against Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, last year. But the investigation is leaving some activists with more questions.”
EFE y Oscar Garcia, Prensa Libre, 13 de julio de 2022
“El Gobierno de México inició este miércoles 13 de julio la repatriación de 8 de los 26 migrantes mexicanos que murieron el pasado 27 de junio mientras viajaban hacinados dentro de un tráiler en la ciudad estadounidense de San Antonio, Texas, en donde murieron al menos 53 extranjeros de diferentes nacionalidades, entre ellos 22 guatemaltecos”.
WATCH: Biden meets with Mexican counterpart López Obrador to discuss immigration and trade
PBS News, July 12th, 2022
“Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador used a visit to the White House on Tuesday to call for rejecting the ‘status quo’ on the border, but also praised a relationship with the U.S. that both he and President Joe Biden insisted remained strong despite a series of high-profile policy disagreements.”
‘Don’t vote for that party’: Mexican president slams Texas migrant policy
Brendan O’Boyle, Reuters, July 8, 2022
“Mexico’s president on Friday attacked the governor of Texas’ latest steps to crack down on unauthorized migration, saying he would urge voters of Mexican origin in the United States not to vote for ‘anti-immigrant’ candidates.”
Children separated from relatives at the border could be reunited under new Biden program
Hamed Alealiz, The Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2022
“After the girl’s grandfather died, she traveled from Guatemala to the Texas border with her uncle. Border Patrol agents separated them. The girl, then 10, ended up in foster care, while her uncle was deported, according to her attorney, Miriam Enriquez.”
Border Patrol agents did not strike Del Rio migrants, report finds
Nick Miroff, The Washington Post, July 8, 2022
“The Border Patrol agents on horseback who confronted Haitian families last September along the riverbanks in Del Rio, Tex., did not strike migrants with their reins but used ‘unnecessary’ force and lacked proper guidance from supervisors, according to a long-anticipated internal report released Friday.”
Andrea Castillo, The Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2022
“Laurens Van Beek left his parents’ Iowa City home on Tuesday with three suitcases full of clothes and electronics to board his first international flight in 17 years. He doesn’t know when he’ll be back.”
MEXICAN ENFORCEMENT
Mexico says U.S. will increase work visas for Mexicans, Central Americans
Isabel Woodford, Kylie Madry and Daina Beth Solomon, Reuters, July 14, 2022
“The United States agreed to increase the number of work visas for Mexicans and Central Americans during high-level talks in Washington this week, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday.”
Mexico to put $1.5 bln into upgrading border as Biden meets López Obrador
Nandita Bose and Ted Hesson, Reuters, July 13, 2022
“Mexico on Tuesday pledged to spend $1.5 billion to beef up its northern border as its leader met with U.S. President Joe Biden, who faces attacks from Republicans over his handling of immigration on the United States’ southern flank.”
Activistas instan a gobiernos de México y EU a eliminar medidas restrictivas contra migrantes
Maritza Pérez, El Economista, 12 de julio de 2022
“Cerca de 87 organizaciones de ambas naciones advirtieron sobre la urgencia de dejar atrás las políticas migratorias centradas en cerrar fronteras y bloquear el camino de las personas migrantes, mismas que obligan a las personas a tomar rutas peligrosas y contratar a traficantes en vez de poder acceder a vías legales de migración”.
Sumarán México y EU esfuerzos para abordar causas profundas de migración
Emir Olivares, La Jornada, 12 de julio de 2022
“En el comunicado conjunto que difundió la Casa Blanca sobre los acuerdos alcanzados en la reunión bilateral entre los presidentes de Estados Unidos Joe Biden y de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador en el que destaca que el trágico deceso de migrantes en San Antonio ‘refuerza aún más nuestra determinación de perseguir la multimillonaria industria del contrabando criminal que se aprovecha de los migrantes y de aumentar nuestros esfuerzos para abordar las causas profundas de la migración’”.
After snubbing Biden at summit, Mexico’s president pokes him at the White House
Tracy Wilkinson and Eli Stokols, The Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2022
“A month after he boycotted a major regional summit in Los Angeles and snubbed the Biden administration, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came to Washington on Tuesday for wide-ranging talks with his U.S. counterpart.”
ROOT CAUSES
Senadores demócratas condenan violencia contra periodistas en México
David Brooks y Emir Olivares Alonso, La Jornada, 12 de julio de 2022
“Influyentes senadores de ambos partidos utilizaron la visita del Presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador a Washington para expresar sus preocupaciones sobre el vecino país y la relación bilateral; demócratas deploraron la violencia contra periodistas y republicanos criticaron las políticas del gobierno mexicano”.
Viena Hernández, Criterio.hn, 12 de julio de 2022
“La desigualdad de género está presente en todos los estratos sociales de Honduras –bastante marcada en la sociedad– la lucha de los activistas de derechos de las mujeres de poblaciones indígenas, de organismos feministas y de las poblaciones LGBTI se mantiene, pero es atacada constantemente para evitar que tenga mayor auge”.
Honduras en penúltimo puesto en los índices de desarrollo humano de Latinoamérica
Vanessa, Confidencialhn, 12 de julio de 2022
“El Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) señaló este martes que Honduras enfrenta una multicrisis que ha debilitado el Estado de derecho e impide superar los problemas estructurales del país, que ocupa el penúltimo puesto en los índices de desarrollo humano de Latinoamérica”.
Why El Salvador’s mass arrests won’t lower the murder rate
Michael Ahn Paarlberg, The Washington Post, July 11, 2022
“By promising to reduce homicides, politicians are forced to make deals with the gangs. For several months now, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has pursued a campaign of mass arrests.”
Gremial de colegios señala que muchos estudiantes están migrando fuera del país
Susana Joma, Elsalvador.com, 10 de julio de 2022
“El presidente de la Asociación de Colegios Privados de El Salvador (ACPES), Javier Hernández Amaya, no descarta que estudiantes de ese sector han pasado a centros del sistema público, como señaló el ministro de Educación, Mauricio Pineda, debido a los incentivos materiales que el gobierno ha dado”.
DFC, de EEUU, comprometida con promover inversiones sostenibles en Honduras
Vanessa, Confidencialhn, 8 de julio de 2022
“La Corporación Financiera de Desarrollo Internacional (DFC, por sus siglas en inglés) de EEUU está comprometida con ‘la promoción de inversiones inclusivas, transparentes y sostenibles’ en Honduras, dijo su director ejecutivo, Scott Nathan”.
Marcia Perdomo, Criterio.hn, 8 de julio de 2022
“La presencia del director general de la Corporación Financiera de Desarrollo Internacional (DFC) de los Estados Unidos, Scoth Nathan, genera resquemor entre los defensores del territorio en Honduras”.
Naciones Unidas de Derechos Humanos en Honduras, 8 de julio de 2022
“La Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos en Honduras (OACNUDH) en el marco del próximo inicio del proceso de elección de Magistrados y Magistradas de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, llama a la adopción de un nuevo marco legal para la organización y funcionamiento de la Junta Nominadora que garantice que la próxima elección se realice con base en criterios de idoneidad, capacidad, integridad y competencia”.
Tigers, Giraffes, and Drug Lord Mansions: Welcome to Honduras’ ‘Narco State’
Emily Green, Vice, July 7, 2022
“For years, the Honduran government allegedly aided and abetted drug traffickers. And for a time, they both thrived.”
William Oliva y Julio Román, Prensa Libre, 7 de julio de 2022
“Juan José Cabrera, uno de los migrantes que sobrevivió a la tragedia en California en la que se ahogaron tres guatemaltecos, narró a la cadena de noticias Univisión el drama que vivieron”.
Honduras, el sexto país del mundo con más solicitantes de refugio
Valery García Burgos, Tiempo.hn, 20 de junio de 2022
“En el 2021, más de 221 mil hondureños huyeron del país que los vio nacer y buscaron refugio a nivel internacional. La falta de oportunidades, el crimen organizado, el cambio climático, son solo algunas de las razones que los impulsan a marcharse”.
Gunfights Between Narcos and the Government in Mexico are Surging Again
Luis Chaparro, Vice, June 7, 2022
“Some are asking whether Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is moving away from his “hugs, not bullets” strategy to combat drug violence.”
ACTIONS, ALERTS, AND RESOURCES
Weekly U.S.-Mexico Border Update: Mexico migration data, San Antonio tragedy, Mexico security
Adam Isacson, Washington Office on Latin America, July 7, 2022
“With this series of weekly updates, WOLA seeks to cover the most important developments at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Peace Brigades International Monthly Information Package on Guatemala, June 2022
Peace Brigades International, June 2022
“Monthly update on the situation in Guatemala as highlighted by the press, related to the main thematic areas of PBI Guatemala’s work: the fight against impunity, land issues and defense of territory.”
Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Professional Responsibility, April 17, 2022
“On September 20, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Del Rio, Texas, received information concerning an incident on September 19, 2021, involving Border Patrol Agents (BPAs) from the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), Carrizo Springs Station (CAR), Horse Patrol Unit (HPU), Carrizo Springs, Texas. The incident occurred at an area commonly known as the ‘boat ramp’, approximately three tenths of a mile east of the Del Rio Port of Entry (Del Rio POE), Del Rio, Texas.”
* 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 ysanchezesparza@lawg.org.
Discussion about this post