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
Exclusive: Texas troopers told to push children into Rio Grande, deny water to migrants, records say
Benjamin Wermund, Houston Chronicle, July 17, 2023
“Officers working for Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security initiative have been ordered to push small children and nursing babies back into the Rio Grande, and have been told not to give water to asylum seekers even in extreme heat, according to an email from a Department of Public Safety trooper who described the actions as ‘inhumane.’”
U.S. Enforcement
Federal Judge Blocks Biden Administration’s New Asylum Policy
Miriam Jordan and Eileen Sullivan, The New York Times, July 25, 2023
“Immigrant advocacy groups who sued the administration said that the policy violated U.S. law and heightened migrants’ vulnerability to extortion and violence during protracted waits in Mexican border towns. They also argued that it mimicked a Trump administration rule to restrict asylum that was blocked in 2019 by the same judge, Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.”
Federal judge tosses Biden administration asylum rule for migrants
Maria Sacchetti, The Washington Post, July 25, 2023
“A federal judge in California on Tuesday struck down the Biden administration’s temporary restrictions on migrants seeking asylum, ruling that the government’s plan to reduce illegal crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border violated federal law.”
DOJ sues Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott over Rio Grande barrier
Kierra Frazier and Josh Gerstein, Politico, July 24, 2023
“The Department of Justice sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for building a floating barrier at the southern border that the state says will deter migrants but that the Biden administration calls a threat to public safety. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, alleges that Abbott violated the law by building structures in the Rio Grande River without authorization, creating an obstruction in U.S. waters.”
Mexico urges US court to revive $10 billion lawsuit against gun makers
Nate Raymond, Reuters, July 24, 2023
“The Mexican government on Monday urged a U.S. appeals court to revive a $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold U.S. gun manufacturers responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Biden administration officials head to Mexico for meetings on opioid crisis, migration
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, July 24, 2023
“Top officials with the Biden administration are traveling to Mexico on a two-day swing for meetings with Mexican and Canadian officials on the opioid crisis and migration, the White House said early Monday.”
Lawyers Say Helping Asylum Seekers in Border Custody Is Nearly Impossible
Eileen Sullivan, The New York Times, July 22, 2023
“In the first weeks after President Biden’s new border policies were put in place, his administration recorded a sharp drop in the number of people allowed to apply for asylum after crossing into the United States illegally. But lawyers who counsel migrants seeking asylum say the changes make it nearly impossible for them to do their jobs and leave the people most in need of protection struggling to find help.”
Texas’ Harsh New Border Tactics Are Injuring Migrants
Edgar Sandoval, Jay Root and J. David Goodman, The New York Times, July 19, 2023
“But in recent weeks, Texas law enforcement officials have taken those tactics much further, embarking on what the state has called a ‘hold-the-line’ operation, according to interviews with state officials and documents reviewed by The New York Times. They have fortified the riverbanks with additional concertina wire, denied water to some migrants, shouted at others to return to Mexico and, in some cases, deliberately failed to alert federal Border Patrol agents who might assist arriving groups in coming ashore and making asylum claims, the review found.”
Activists report mixed results for asylum access 2 months after Title 42 ends
Alisa Reznick, Fronteras, July 13, 2023
“It’s been two months this week since Title 42 came to an end. The pandemic-era protocol made it nearly impossible to walk up to a port of entry and ask for asylum — despite laws that require it. Pedro de Velasco is the education and advocacy director at the Kino Border Initiative, an aid group based in Nogales, Sonora. He says that’s still a problem for migrants arriving now.”
At the Breaking Point: Rethinking the U.S. Immigration Court System
Muzaffar Chishti, Doris Meissner, Stephen Yale-Loehr, Kathleen Bush-Joseph and Christopher Levesque, Migration Policy Institute, July 2023
“This report takes stock of the many challenges facing the immigration courts and outlines recommendations that would advance the goal of delivering decisions that are both timely and fair. It explores issues including court caseload and personnel levels, docket management strategies, the use of technology in the courts, and access to representation.”
Mexican Enforcement
Comisión de Derechos Humanos de CDMX acumula 126 quejas de migrantes
El Universal, 24 de julio de 2023
“De 2017 a la fecha, la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Ciudad de México tiene acumulados 126 expedientes de quejas interpuestas por migrantes que arriban a la capital del país en su travesía hacia Estados Unidos. Del total de expedientes, el organismo concluyó 94 de ellos, al repararse en el momento las molestias, mientras que el resto aún se encuentran en trámite, mismos que fueron abiertos entre 2022 y 2023”.
En diferentes acciones, rescatan a 256 migrantes en Veracruz
Lilian Hernández Osorio, La Jornada, 24 de julio de 2023
“En tres acciones distintas, el Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) informó que detectó a 256 migrantes en diferentes puntos de Veracruz, de los cuales 17 son menores de edad que viajaban solos. De acuerdo con el instituto, algunas personas halladas presentaban cuadros de deshidratación ya que fueron abandonados en la caja de un tráiler y son originarias de Guatemala, Venezuela, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador y Camerún”.
INM rescata a 5 migrantes abandonados por su “guía” en La Rumorosa, Baja California
Luisa García Valenzuela, El Universal, 23 de julio de 2023
“Tras 15 horas de búsqueda, cinco migrantes de nacionalidad peruana y colombiana fueron rescatados y localizados por elementos del Grupo Beta de Tijuana y de Tecate del Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) en la zona montañosa de La Rumorosa, luego de que su “guía” los abandonara”.
Se pronuncian en cumbre por fortalecer trabajo en pro de migrantes
Laura Gómez Flores, La Jornada, 23 de julio de 2023
“La Red de Movilidad Humana y Trata de Personas de la Federación Iberoamericana del Ombudsperson (FIO) -de la cual forma parte la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Ciudad de México-, se pronunció por fortalecer la coordinación, articulación y diseño de herramientas que favorezcan el ejercicio de derechos de la población migrante”.
México envía nota diplomática a EU por instalación de boyas y alambres contra migrantes en el Río Bravo
Eduardo Dina Dina, El Universal, 14 de julio de 2023
“El Gobierno de México envió una nota diplomática a Estados Unidos para manifestar su preocupación por la instalación de un cerco en espiral de alambre de navajas, colocación de barriles, desmonte y movimiento de tierras, en una isla ubicada dentro del cauce del Río Bravo, aguas abajo del Puente Internacional Ferroviario Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass, así como por la instalación de una barrera de boyas para impedir el cruce de personas migrantes”.
Root Causes
Mexico
Mexico’s homicide rate dropped in 2022, but appears to flatline in 2023, official figures show
Associated Press, July 25, 2023
“Mexico’s National Statistics Institute said there were 32,223 killings in 2022, 9.7% less than in 2021. The country’s homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants dropped from about 28 in 2021 to 25 in 2022.”
Outside experts’ last report raises questions about military’s role in disappearance of 43 students
Associated Press, July 25, 2023
“The last report submitted by a panel of outside experts Tuesday raised further questions about the Mexican military’s role in the 2014 disappearance of 43 students. The panelists said they had located photos of two dead bodies with the heads or hands bound in a way that was similar to the method Mexican marines used on other suspects.”
El GIEI se despide del ‘caso Ayotzinapa’ apuntando nuevamente al Ejército
Pablo Ferri, El País, 25 de julio de 2023
“El grupo de expertos independientes que ha investigado el caso Ayotzinapa en México, en paralelo a las autoridades, durante los últimos ocho años, el GIEI, ha presentado su último informe este martes en la capital. Concluye así una de las experiencias más interesantes de colaboración en materia de procuración de justicia en un país acostumbrado a la impunidad”.
An Investigation Into Mexico’s 43 Missing Students Ends in ‘Falsehoods and Diversions’
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, The New York Times, July 25, 2023
“A panel of international experts investigating the 2014 abduction of 43 students in southern Mexico said on Tuesday that it was ending its inquiry after being repeatedly lied to and misled by the Mexican armed forces about their role in the crime.”
Investigators, denied access in student disappearances, will leave Mexico
Oscar López and Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post, July 25, 2023
“The international investigators who have spent nearly a decade trying to solve one of Mexico’s most heinous crimes — the disappearance of 43 students from a rural teachers college — ended their investigation Tuesday, saying they have been persistently stonewalled by the armed forces.”
Presenta GIEI su sexto y último informe sobre caso Ayotzinapa
Blanche Petrich y Jessica Xantomila, La Jornada, 24 de julio de 2023
“Este mes vence el mandato del Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes (GIEI) que desde hace ocho años cuatro meses asumió la investigación del Caso Ayotzinapa como parte coadyuvante de las madres y padres de los 43 estudiantes desaparecidos y tres asesinados en Iguala el 26 de septiembre de 2014. Y este martes 25 presentan su VI y último informe”.
Mexico steps up rain-making project amid intense heatwave and drought
James Frederick, The Guardian, July 23, 2023
“Amid a historic heatwave and months of drought, Mexico’s government has launched the latest phase of a cloud seeding project it hopes will increase rainfall. The project, which began in July, involves planes flying into clouds to release silver iodide particles which then, in theory, will attract additional water droplets and increase rain or snowfall.”
11 Killed in Suspected Arson in Mexico Club
Aaron Boxerman, The New York Times, July 22, 2023
“Eleven people were killed and four injured in a suspected arson attack at a bar in the northern border city of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, on Saturday morning, Mexican authorities said, as the country continues to struggle with violent crime.”
In Mexico, organized crime flexes social muscle among the poorest ahead of elections
Carmen Morán Breña, El País, July 17, 2023
“The drugs industry has turned Mexico into a quicksand hole where the country has been sinking without remedy for the last six years. With its head barely out of the ground, it needs an outstretched hand to avoid succumbing to a criminal power that has diversified its business into any sphere where money flows, from north to south, from east to west.”
Mexico vigilante leader’s killing highlights failure to curb violence
Tom Phillips and Analy Nuño, The Guardian, July 16, 2023
“More than 150,000 people have been murdered since Mexico’s current president took power and Hipólito Mora suspected he would join them. ‘I knew this day would come,’ the lime farmer turned vigilante rebel wrote in a farewell message to be published in the event that it did.”
Mexican journalist Luis Martín Sánchez Iñíguez killed in Nayarit
Committee to Protect Journalists, July 13, 2023
“Mexican authorities must immediately, transparently, and credibly investigate the killing of journalist Luis Martín Sánchez Iñíguez and determine whether he was killed because of his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.”
Fiscalía: a revisión, todo lo que publicó durante una década
Gustavo Castillo y Rolando Medrano, La Jornada, 10 de julio de 2023
“El gobierno federal y la Fiscalía General de Justicia de Nayarit analizarán la información periodística que publicó durante al menos 10 años el corresponsal de La Jornada Luis Martín Sánchez Íñiguez, y también los datos de mensajería y llamadas entrantes y salientes que se registraron en su equipo de telefonía móvil, para tratar de establecer con quiénes tuvo contacto antes de ser asesinado, reveló el fiscal estatal Petronilo Díaz Ponce Medrano.”
Ep. 7 | Mujeres que sueñan con un mundo libre de violencia armada
The Power of Women in Pandemic Times, YouTube, 3 de julio de 2023
“En promedio, mueren seis mujeres asesinadas con armas de fuego cada día en México. Con la mal llamada guerra contra el narcotráfico, aumentó el uso de armas de fuego contra las mujeres y con la pandemia, la violencia de género incrementó tanto en las calles como en los hogares. La mayor parte de las armas provienen de los EEUU”.
Guatemala
OAS chief flags ‘clear interference’ in Guatemala election ahead of visit
Sofia Menchu, Reuters, July 26, 2023
“The Organization of American States (OAS) chief Luis Almagro will meet with authorities and politicians in Guatemala next week, he said on Wednesday, as concerns escalate over alleged government interference in the upcoming presidential runoff vote.”
US steps up warnings to Guatemalan officials about interference in country’s election
Conor Finnegan, ABC News, July 26, 2023
“The top U.S. diplomat for the Western Hemisphere called Guatemala’s foreign minister yesterday to stress that the runoff should be allowed to take place ‘without interference or harassment of the candidates or political parties. Guatemalans have the right to elect their government,’ Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols said on social media on Monday.”
Guatemala voters voice uncertainty ahead of presidential run-off
Jeff Abbott, AlJazeera, July 25, 2023
“Campaigning is under way in Guatemala before the August 20 run-off election, which will see progressive candidate Bernardo Arevalo face off against the conservative Sandra Torres for the presidency. But the race has been fraught with uncertainty ever since Arevalo advanced to the second round of voting.”
Análisis: por qué las investigaciones del MP afectan el proceso electoral
Douglas Cuevas, Prensa Libre, 25 de julio de 2023
“El pasado fin de semana la Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) no otorgó un amparo provisional al Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE), quien buscaba frenar órdenes judiciales que ponen en riesgo el proceso electoral, lo que, a criterio de abogados, traerá nuevas acciones legales encabezadas por el Ministerio Público (MP)”.
Convocan paro nacional en Guatemala “en defensa de la democracia”
Redacción NTN24, 24 de julio de 2023
“Varias organizaciones en Guatemala convocaron para este lunes un paro nacional bajo la consiga de, según dicen, ‘defender la democracia’. Piden a la ciudadanía que se movilice para rechazar los intentos de que ‘interrumpa’ la segunda vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales, programadas para el próximo domingo 20 de agosto”.
Protests Press On In Guatemala Ahead Of Presidential Runoff
Agence France Presse, Barron’s, July 24, 2023
“Guatemalan protesters took to the streets again on Monday demanding that the attorney general and a handful of prosecutors step down over their alleged efforts to impede the upcoming presidential runoff election.”
Guatemalans protest interference by court, prosecutors in August’s second-round election
Associated Press, July 24, 2023
“Hundreds of Guatemalans demonstrated Monday to protest interference by courts and prosecutors against a progressive candidate’s participation in August’s second-round presidential election. The government’s actions against Bernardo Arévalo have included suspending his Seed Movement party and raiding the country’s election tribunal offices after it certified first-round election results that put Arévalo into the Aug. 20 runoff against conservative former first lady Sandra Torres.”
US urges Guatemala to ensure no interference in election after raid
Reuters, July 24, 2023
“Senior U.S. Department of State official Brian Nichols said on Monday he had spoken with Guatemalan Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro to stress the need to hold a free and fair run-off in the Central American country’s presidential election next month.”
Protestas en la capital: las imágenes y consignas con la que los guatemaltecos piden la renuncia de Porras y que se respete el proceso electoral
Sandy Pineda y Andrea Domínguez, Prensa Libre, 23 de julio de 2023
“Cientos de guatemaltecos se manifestaron este domingo 23 de julio para exigir la renuncia de la fiscal general y jefa del Ministerio Público (MP), Consuelo Porras, y otros funcionarios a quienes señalaron de interferir en el proceso electoral rumbo a la segunda vuelta del próximo 20 de agosto”.
Guatemala contender decries police raid on party HQ before crucial runoff
Reuters, The Guardian, July 21, 2023
“The Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo has denounced a police raid on his party headquarters as a ‘corrupt’ show of ‘political persecution’ just a month before the high-stakes runoff election. Police raided the headquarters of Arévalo’s Semilla party on Friday, saying it was carrying out a 12 July court order that had canceled the party’s legal status.”
TSE presenta amparo en la CC en contra de la jefa del MP, presidenta del OJ y otros funcionarios, por amenaza de “vulnerar el Estado de derecho”
Julio Román Y Henry Montenegro, Prensa Libre, 21 de julio de 2023
“El Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE), mediante la mandataria judicial María Lucrecia Morales Molina, presentó un amparo ante la Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) contra de ocho funcionarios públicos ante la ‘la amenaza cierta, futura e inminente de que las autoridades denunciadas vulneren del Estado Democrático de Derecho’”.
US Sanctions Judge and Prosecutor Involved in Attempted Electoral Coup in Guatemala
Roman Gressier and José Luis Sanz, El Faro, July 20, 2023
“On Wednesday the U.S. State Department sanctioned 39 public officials, judges, prosecutors, legislators, and businessmen in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua citing evidence of corruption or attacks against democracy.”
Un juez y el fiscal que investiga a opositores vuelven a la carga contra la candidatura progresista en Guatemala
Evelyn Boche Ventura, El País, 19 de julio de 2023
“El candidato del progresista Movimiento Semilla, Bernardo Arévalo, avanza hacia el balotaje por la presidencia de Guatemala con el lastre de una investigación a cargo de la Fiscalía que ha promovido la criminalización de exoperadores de justicia y periodistas, como el director de elPeriódico, José Rubén Zamora, y el exfiscal anticorrupción Francisco Sandoval.”
US sanctions Guatemalan officials over ‘undemocratic’ activity
Al Jazeera, July 19, 2023
“The United States government has slapped sanctions on 10 Guatemalan officials, including several accused of undermining democracy and targeting journalists, as the country contends with an ongoing electoral crisis. The sanctions come as part of a report issued on Wednesday, which names individuals accused of anti-democratic activity and corruption in Central America.”
El Salvador
El Salvador clears way for mass trials as crackdown on gangs ramps up
Luke Taylor, The Guardian, July 27, 2023
“Nayib Bukele’s government has already locked up 2% of El Salvador’s adult population and built the largest prison in the Americas to house the 70,000 alleged gang members he has imprisoned. Now the populist leader has cleared the way for mass trials of hundreds of people at a time as he steps up his year-long crackdown on the country’s gangs which critics say is eroding the rule of law and leading to many innocent people being wrongly jailed.”
Detenidos bajo el régimen de excepción serán procesados en forma grupal
Susana Peñate, ElSalvador.com, 26 de julio de 2023
“Con 67 votos a favor, Nuevas Ideas y sus aliados aprobaron el miércoles las ‘Disposiciones transitorias especiales para ordenar el procesamiento de imputados detenidos en el marco del régimen de excepción’ que está vigente desde el 27 de marzo de 2022”.
Inside the growing cult of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Latin America’s political star
Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, July 25, 2023
“The brash young autocrat has won legions of fans throughout the region for a sweeping crackdown on gangs that has dramatically lowered violent crime. That his ‘mano dura’ policies draw scorn from human rights and democracy advocates seems to only feed his cult-like status as a renegade willing to get things done, whatever the cost.”
Nacer con régimen de excepción: ‘Las mamás bañaban a los bebés con lejía’
Efren Lemus, El Faro, 24 de julio de 2023
“Andrés salió del penal de Izalco el 29 de mayo de 2023 con la espalda llena de granos. La enfermedad que padece se llama escabiosis, conocida como sarna humana, provocada por la humedad y la suciedad. Durante los cinco meses que Andrés estuvo en el penal no recibió ningún medicamento contra la escabiosis ni contra otras enfermedades que padeció durante su encierro. Andrés, desesperado, lloraba por la picazón. Cuando los granitos rojos se extendían por su espalda y cuello, apenas había cumplido cinco meses de edad”.
Debunking the myth of El Salvador’s management of the pandemic
Tim Muth, El Salvador Perspectives, July 23, 2023
“The lesson here is not so much about COVID-19, but about how readily the Bukele regime will lie to the Salvadoran public in order to preserve its image as the best government they could ever hope for. The country is months away from national elections, and the COVID-19 myth of success will continue to be propagated to garner votes for Bukele and his party. It won’t be the only area where the propaganda fails to match up to a reality hidden by the government.”
Nayib Bukele shows how to dismantle a democracy and stay popular
Sonsonate, The Economist, July 20, 2023
“In 2019 Salvadoreans elected a then 37-year-old president, Nayib Bukele. Like most candidates, he promised to crack down on gangsters. Unlike his predecessors, he has done so on such a scale that most are either locked up or in hiding. He hopes to parlay that success into a constitutionally dubious second term.”
Letter to State re El Salvador Water Defenders
U.S. Congress Members, July 18, 2023
“Dear Secretary Blinken, We write to express our serious concerns regarding the January 11, 2023 arrest of five community leaders from northern El Salvador who were among the Water Defenders who led the successful effort to pass a historic law prohibiting metals mining in El Salvador in 2017. There are strong indications that the current Salvadoran government intends to repeal that law and we are concerned these arrests are politically motivated and intended to silence the overwhelming opposition to mining in the country. We also have concerns that these men have been denied their basic right to due process. Therefore, we strongly urge you to send a clear, public message calling for their release from pre-trial detention and for the charges against the accused to be dismissed.”
Estas son las cifras que el gobierno no reveló sobre las muertes por covid-19
Edwin Segura y Maryelos Cea, La Prensa Gráfica, 17 de julio de 2023
“El Salvador sufrió 15,956 muertes relacionadas con covid-19 entre marzo de 2020 y enero de 2023. Pero en público, el Ministerio de Salud sólo reconoce 4,299 fallecidos en el país debido a la pandemia. La misma institución tiene documentadas 7,525 muertes por covid-19, 6,976 muertes por sospechas de covid-19 y 1,455 muertes de pacientes con antecedentes de covid-19”.
Más de 6 mil denuncias de abusos y vulneración a derechos humanos durante el régimen de excepción reportan organizaciones de sociedad civil y de periodistas.
Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos, 14 de julio de 2023
“Desde la entrada en vigencia del régimen de excepción se registran más de 6,436 denuncias de abusos y violaciones a los derechos humanos de las personas detenidas y de sus familiares. Así lo dieron a conocer este viernes las organizaciones de derechos humanos y de periodistas durante una audiencia virtual en el período de sesiones 187 de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH)”.
Honduras
Bukele’s ‘War on Gangs’ Model Won’t Work for Honduras’ Castro
Tiziano Breda, World Politics Review, July 25, 2023
“Several months ago, this country’s government imposed a state of emergency to curb violent crime. More recently, it announced its intention to build a new, remote prison to secure the most dangerous criminals. In the meantime, its security forces have taken to displaying inmates seated front to back on the ground of prison courtyards—faces down, heads shaved and legs splayed, all under the close watch of heavily armed military police officers in a brutal show of force.”
Climate change is pushing young people in Honduras to leave farming and migrate
Marisa Peñaloza and Joel Rose, NPR, July 24, 2023
“The changing climate is reshaping migration from Honduras. Drought and erratic rainfall are undermining agriculture, pushing young people to migrate in search of a more secure future. Since the start of 2021, U.S. immigration authorities have encountered more migrants from Honduras at the southern U.S. border than any country except Mexico, and climate change is one reason why.”
Honduras wants to build West’s only island prison colony and lock gangsters inside
Marlon Gonzáles and Megan Janetsky, Associated Press, July 19, 2023
“Honduras’s progressive president once promised to address gang violence through systemic reforms to governance and the criminal justice system. Now, President Xiomara Castro plans to build an isolated prison for 2,000 gang leaders on the Islas del Cisne archipelago 155 miles off the coast, part of a larger crackdown following the gang-related massacre of 46 women in one prison.”
Regional
La informalidad laboral obstruye la integración de los migrantes latinoamericanos: informe
Marion Giraldo, Reuters, 21 de julio de 2023
“Los migrantes en Latinoamérica suelen contar con una mayor calificación que los trabajadores locales, pero se enfrentan a la informalidad laboral y condiciones más difíciles de trabajo que obstaculizan su integración, según un informe presentado el viernes por tres organizaciones internacionales”.
Sweeping sexual violence under the rug
Jineth Bedoya Lima, El País, July 20, 2023
“Stigmatization, impunity, forced displacement, hate speech, the trafficking of women and girls, the breakdown of the social fabric. Pain. Sexual violence continues to cause all of those things around the world, amid armed conflicts in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.”
Central America’s Turbulent Northern Triangle
Diana Roy and Amelia Cheatham, Council on Foreign Relations, July 13, 2023
“An ongoing rise in the number of migrants coming from Central America’s so-called Northern Triangle—comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—has cast a spotlight on a long-suffering part of the world. Governments in the region have made some efforts to mitigate the poverty, violence, and corruption that are driving citizens away, but the problems remain widespread.”
Section 353 Corrupt and Undemocratic Actors Report: 2023
U.S. Department of State, July 2023
“Report to Congress on Foreign Persons who have Knowingly Engaged in Actions that Undermine Democratic Processes or Institutions, Significant Corruption, or Obstruction of Such Corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras Section 353(b) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021 (Div. FF, P.L. 116-260).”
¿En qué situación están los migrantes en América Latina y el Caribe?: mapeo de la integración socioeconómica
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico, Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, julio de 2023
“Durante la última década, el panorama migratorio de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) cambió significativamente. En este contexto, la integración socioeconómica de los inmigrantes es una prioridad cada vez más imperiosa de la agenda de desarrollo y de política regional”.
Gender and LGBTQ+
Insights from the Intersectional Dialogues on Migration
Women in Migration Network, July 6, 2023
“The virtual dialogues convened by WIMN during 2021–22 connected across geographic, sectoral, and identity groups to explore how the realities of women in migration cut across these spaces. The process deepened and expanded our understanding of migration from an intersectional feminist perspective and contributed to relationship building and analysis on the intersections of gender, migration, race, labor, and climate change.”
Actions, Alerts, and Resources
Asylum Ban Messaging Guidance
Welcome With Dignity, July 21, 2023
“In May 2023, the Biden administration launched a sweeping ban on asylum, embracing restrictive Trump-era policies the president himself denounced on the campaign trail. Biden’s ban sends a message that its top priority is keeping people out, not keeping people safe. Instead of making it harder for people to seek protection, the United States should have a fair, humane, and orderly system that reflects our values.”
HEAL Reintroduction – Digital Toolkit
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, July 2023
“The HEAL Act is set to be reintroduced from Congress on July 27, 2023. The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, together with the HEAL For Immigrant Families Coalition, are proud to be collaborating on the re-introduction of this historic legislation. For the first time in the bill’s history, and just in time for the 58th anniversary of the Medicaid and Medicare programs, the HEAL Act would go even further in removing barriers to health care and coverage for immigrant communities.”
PUBLIC MINISTRY EXERTS PRESSURE ON THE TSE AND SEMILLA TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND GUATEMALAN DEMOCRACY!
Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, July 2023
“Please write to your members of Congress (House and Senate), expressing concern about continuing attempts to interfere with the presidential elections in Guatemala. A suggested letter is below.”
*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.
