Migrants, mostly from Nicaragua, crossed the Rio Grande, from Mexico to the United States, in Eagle Pass, Texas, days ago. Photo: AP
America is experiencing one of its biggest immigration crises with hundreds of thousands of people trying to reach the United States to realize the “American dream”. But the odyssey is getting more difficult because of the continuous deportations and the danger of borders, especially those of Mexico and Panama with Colombia.
In this context, irregular migration is one of the main topics to be discussed at the Summit of the Americas, which will be held from 6 to 10 June in Los Angeles (USA).
One of the main focuses of the migration crisis is in Haiti, where gang violence, hunger, political crisis and the destruction caused by the 2021 earthquake is expelling the population at an accelerating rate to the Americas.
The coordinator of the National Board for Migration and Refugees in the Dominican Republic, William Charpentier, told the EFE agency that “Haitian citizens are desperate and must flee their country to improve their living conditions, but also to save their lives” .
In their exodus, Haitians join migrant caravans to the United States and, in recent months, have more frequently resorted to dangerous Caribbean Sea routes on fragile boats bound for Florida or Puerto Rico.
The US Coast Guard has captured 3,900 Haitians so far this year, more than double last year, and already has 175 dead or missing at sea.
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico, in the custody of US border authorities, in Eagle Pass, Texas, in late May. Photo: AP
In the last six months alone, the Dominican Navy has intercepted 1,747 Haitians and also 2,201 Dominicans who, in search of better living conditions, have tried to illegally travel to Puerto Rico through the treacherous currents of the Mona Canal.
dangerous crossing
The Darién Gap, the natural border between Panama and Colombia, is the entrance to Central America, almost the last stretch towards North America, and, in turn, the deadliest point on the continent: it is considered one of the most dangerous routes of the world, due to the climate of the jungle itself and the presence of armed groups.
As of last April, 19,000 irregular migrants crossed the border, while last year more than 133,000 people crossed it, a historical figure similar to that recorded in the entire previous decade, according to official data from the Panamanian government.
This wave joins the caravans of the Northern Triangle of Central America, made up of citizens of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, fleeing aggravated poverty, maras (gang) violence and drug trafficking, towards a better life in the States. United. .and Canada.
deportation register
US expulsions increased by 583.8% at the end of the first quarter of 2022, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The situation forced the authorities of 20 countries of the continent to create a working group to deal with the increasing migratory flows in the Americas, after having held a regional meeting on migration and security in Panama in April.
Mexico is experiencing a record migratory flow to the US: the Latin country deported more than 114 thousand foreigners in 2021, according to data from the Migration Policy Unit of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation of Mexico has declared migratory reviews that threaten free transit unconstitutional and recognized the 2020 migration reform that bans the National Migration Institute from detaining minors in migration stations.
A US border guard checks a young Mexican who was trying to cross the border in Sunland Park, New Mexico this Friday. Photo: AFP
There were 8,715 Armed Forces agents on migratory missions to these borders in 2019, but the figure more than tripled in April 2022, to over 28,500, according to the Foundation for Justice and Democratic Government’s “Under the Boot” report. of law (FJEDD).
The brake on the conclusion of the application of Title 42, a standard used by the United States for expressly deport undocumented immigrants during the pandemic of covid-19, has wrested the hope of thousands of migrants who since last Monday, May 23, were waiting for the end of the provision.
In the United States, the Joe Biden government’s efforts to reverse the controversial immigration policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, have failed in court.
On its first day, Biden eliminated the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), known as “Remain in Mexico”, which since 2019 has forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory, in precarious conditions and exposed to violence for months.
But Justice forced Biden to reactivate this program widely criticized by human rights defenders and implemented with the support of the Mexican government.
Another administration effort to dismantle Trump’s legacy failed on May 20, when a Louisiana judge ordered title 42 to be kept intact.
The government tried to revoke this regulation before the pandemic was suspended, but the judge agreed with Republican-ruled states that they denounced a foreseeable increase in border crossings and damage to their health systems.
“Title 42 is a failure as a border management policy … It has created more chaos and more border crossings,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a migration expert at the American Immigration Council.
According to this regulation, 1.8 million expulsionsin many cases of people crossing more than once, because when they get hot they don’t have a record.
Biden’s attempts to end these measures do not imply an open door policy, as the administration’s message to migrants is “don’t come”.
Source: EFE
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Source: Clarin
