The U.S. and Mexico Want to Slow Migration from Central America. Will Mass Deportations Help? Kate Linthicum - The Los Angeles Times
go to original October 27, 2017

The Mexican Friar providing a safe haven for refugees (UNHCR)

The United States and Mexico are teaming up in a new effort to stem the flow of immigrants from Central America, even as President Trump carries out policy changes that critics argue could spur insecurity in the region and drive more people north.

In recent years, more people entering the U.S. illegally have come from Central American countries than from Mexico, with more than 200,000 Central Americans detained at the border in 2016.

The new initiative aims to discourage people from leaving Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala by funding projects over the next six months to improve the economies and security situation in those countries while reducing corruption.

“We’re taking on what we both recognize as the drivers of mass migration," said Mark Green, the administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, who announced the collaboration Thursday after meeting with his counterparts in Mexico City.

Migrants don’t want to leave their homes and family behind, Green said: “If we can take on those drivers at home, then kids get a normal life.”

While Trump asked for a reduction in funding for Central America in his proposed budget to Congress earlier this year — part of a suggested 30% cutback across the State Department — the initiative is a continuation of a strategy forged by his predecessor.

President Obama persuaded Congress to approve more than $750 million in development aid for Central America after more than 68,000 children traveling without a parent or adult were apprehended at the border in 2014. Most of them came from the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

In June, Vice President Mike Pence seemed committed to that approach when he met with leaders from Mexico and the Northern Triangle to discuss ways to prevent citizens from migrating to the United States.

Still, experts said those efforts could be undercut by Trump’s other actions in the region.

Read the rest at The Los Angeles Times

Related: Trump’s Restrictions on Central Americans Seeking Asylum Could Destabilize the Region (World Politics Review)

Related: Central American Immigrants Are No Longer Seeing Mexico Just as a Transit Country But a Destination (El Universal)

Related: North and Central American Countries Pledge Support for Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (UNHCR)

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