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
Please, join us at an event on Friday, June 23, from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM for a discussion in Spanish on Cristosal’s recently published report “One Year Under State of Exception.” We will host David Morales from Cristosal, Carolina Jimenez from WOLA, and Leonor Arteaga from DPLF. You can click here to RSVP in person or access our Zoom meeting, where we will provide live interpretation in English.
Acompáñenos este viernes 23 de junio en un evento de 9:30 am a 11:00 am para una discusión en español acerca del recién publicado informe de Cristosal “Un año bajo el estado de excepción”. Nos acompañarán David Morales de Cristosal, Carolina Jimenez de WOLA y Leonor Arteaga de DPLF. Haga click aquí para registrarse al evento de manera presencial o acceda a nuestra reunión de Zoom.
Declive democrático y deriva autoritaria en Guatemala
Jueves 22 de junio de 2023, 4:00-5:30pm
Para participar en persona en la oficina del OSF ubicada en 1730 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 7mo Piso, por favor regístrese aquí. Para participar a través de Zoom, por favor acceda a nuestra reunión aquí.
To attend in person at the OSF office, located at 1730 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 7th Floor, please register here. To attend virtually, please click here for the Zoom link.
We are seeking two Fall 2023 Advocacy Interns! To learn more, please visit our website. ¡Estamos buscando dos pasantes para el otoño de 2023! Para obtener más información, por favor visite nuestro sitio web.
U.S. Enforcement
Cuál es la nueva estrategia de EEUU para combatir el tráfico de armas de fuego a México
Joel Cano, Infobae, 15 de junio de 2023
“En la sede de la Oficina de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (ATF, por sus siglas en inglés) se celebró una reunión entre funcionarios de Estados Unidos (EEUU) para implementar acciones que ayuden a frenar la circulación ilícita de armamento. La Casa Blanca informó que este plan forma parte de las acciones encaminadas a interrumpir el tráfico de fentanilo”.
U.S. extends temporary legal status for over 300,000 immigrants that Trump sought to end
Camilo Montaya-Galvez, CBS News, June 13, 2023
“The Biden administration will allow roughly 337,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua to continue living and working in the U.S. legally under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.”
Biden to extend legal status for 4 nationalities, reversing Trump but irking some
Elliot Spagat, Associated Press, June 13, 2023
“The Biden administration said Tuesday that it will extend legal status by 18 months for more than 300,000 people from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, disappointing some advocates and members of Congress who sought a more generous offer.”
We Urge President Biden to reconsider his limited decision on Ramos v. Mayorkas. New TPS designations are the answer.
Mynellies Negrón, Alianza Americas, June 13, 2023
“Today, the Biden Administration announced an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal as part of its actions in the Ramos v. Mayorkas lawsuit. This means that only people from those countries who already have TPS and are living in the United States will receive an additional 18 months of authorization to live and work in the country. This decision leaves out thousands of people from those nationalities who have built a home in the U.S. but lack regularized immigration status, denying them relief from deportation through a new TPS designation.”
US halts appointments using migrant phone app at Texas border crossing
Associated Press, The Guardian, June 13, 2023
“The Biden administration has stopped taking mobile phone app appointments to admit asylum seekers at a Texas border crossing that connects to a notoriously dangerous Mexican city after advocates warned US authorities that migrants were being targeted there for extortion.”
DACA 11 Years Later: From students to careers and families
Phillip Connor, FWD.us, June 12, 2023
“DACA has helped undocumented young people build careers and families in the United States. As DACA reaches its 11th anniversary, the policy is under immediate threat in the courts. It is long past time to provide certainty to recipients and their families with a pathway to citizenship.”
U.S.-Costa Rica Joint Commitment to Address the Hemispheric Challenge of Irregular Migration
Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State, June 12, 2023
“This initiative will facilitate access to lawful pathways to the United States and other countries, including expedited refugee processing and other humanitarian and labor pathways. During the exploratory phase, Movilidad Segura services will be limited to Nicaraguan and Venezuelan nationals, who can prove that they were physically present in Costa Rica on the date of this announcement and who are currently registered as asylum seekers.”
Migrants say Florida contractors pushed to get them to board planes to California
Jack Herrera, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 2023
“María had found herself in the center of a political storm. Migrant flights and the national attention they’ve drawn are yet another chapter in the political fight over the border, with California officials vowing to investigate whether travelers were misled and the Florida governor doubling down on hard-line policies and a portrayal of himself as a culture warrior.”
A Line that Barely Budges: U.S. Limiting Access to Asylum
Christina Asencio, Human Rights First, June 9, 2023
“This report documents impediments facing people attempting to seek asylum at the U.S. port of entry in Nogales, Arizona following the end of the Title 42 policy on May 11, 2023. While the Biden administration finally ended its use of that illegal policy, the administration has implemented other steps to deny or delay access to asylum at the southwest border, including limits that force asylum seekers to wait for weeks or months for processing at ports of entry and a new asylum ban that went into effect on May 11, 2023.”
Scoop: How Sen. Bob Menendez is stopping a Biden border plan
Stef W. Kight, Axios, June 7, 2023
“Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is preventing the Biden administration from ramping up deportations of migrants from Venezuela back to their home country before they reach the U.S., Axios has learned.”
Mexican Enforcement
Investigan Supuesto ‘Cobro’ de Guardia Nacional a Migrante
N+, 16 de junio de 2023
“En un video se observa al parecer a un elemento de la corporación recibiendo dinero dentro de un pasaporte de una persona en Chihuahua”.
Captaron a un guardia nacional cobrando “derecho de paso” a migrantes en Chihuahua; autoridades ya investigan
Baruc Mayen, Infobae, June 15, 2023
“En redes sociales se difundió un video que exhibió el momento en que un supuesto elemento de la Guardia Nacional recibió dinero de dos personas originarias de Colombia en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Chihuahua, aparentemente, luego de haberlos amenazado con llevarlos ante las autoridades migratorias”.
Guardia Nacional abre investigación por extorsión a migrantes por parte de presuntos agentes en Chihuahua
Latinus, 15 de junio de 2023
“La Guardia Nacional informó este miércoles que inició una investigación por el video difundido en redes sociales en el que se ve a presuntos elementos de esta corporación en Chihuahua cobrar a migrantes para no ser deportados”.
Root Causes
Mexico
Poder Militar | La Guardia Nacional y los riesgos del renovado protagonismo castrense
PODH, Junio 2023
“Desde nuestra fundación hemos documentado y denunciado la impunidad en los delitos y graves violaciones a derechos humanos cometidas por las Fuerzas Armadas, la autonomía relativa de la que ha gozado el sector castrense, la complacencia estatal con su renuencia a rendir cuentas, la permanencia de la lógica contrainsurgente, los pasos hacia la militarización de la seguridad pública y la erosión de la subordinación castrense a las instancias civiles”.
A 6 meses del atentado, no le interesa a la Fiscalía dar con autores intelectuales: Ciro Gómez Leyva
Ciro Gómez Leyva, El Universal, 15 de junio de 2023
“A través de un hilo que compartió en su cuenta oficial de Twitter, el periodista Ciro Gómez Leyva criticó a la Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México, por dejar a un lado la investigación sobre el atentado que sufrió hace seis meses. El comunicador dijo que parece ser que a la Fiscalía no le interesa dar con el autor o autores del crimen, por lo que se ha preguntado si se debe a un tema de incapacidad o de una complicidad”.
What Is Behind Wave of Homicides in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico?
Parker Asmann and Ignacio Alvarado, InSight Crime, June 12, 2023
“A rise in migrant smuggling and synthetic drug trafficking could explain a recent spike in homicides in Ciudad Juárez, a place still struggling to escape a cycle of violence that began during the onset of the drug war in Mexico.”
Thousands march in Mexico to demand an end to attacks on Zapatista communities
Efe, La Prensa Latina, June 9, 2023
“Several thousand people marched on Thursday in Mexico City, San Cristobal de las Casas and some other parts of the country to demand an end to recent attacks by paramilitary groups against Zapatista communities in the southern Chiapas state.”
Analysis: Mexico president puts unity first to broker compromise in succession race
Dave Graham, Reuters, June 8, 2023
“Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week intervened in the increasingly fractious race to succeed him, a move party insiders said was aimed at warding off potential division and protecting the commanding political power base he has built.”
México: El Comité de la ONU constata violaciones en el primer caso de desaparición forzada
OHCHR México, 4 de mayo de 2023
“En su decisión publicada hoy, el Comité consideró que, dado que había pruebas suficientes de la participación de agentes del Estado, México tenía la carga de probar, mediante una investigación llevada a cabo con la debida diligencia, que la desaparición no fue causada por la participación directa de agentes del Estado o de personas que actuarán con la autorización o la aquiescencia de este. A falta de dicha investigación, el Comité concluyó que la víctima había sido objeto de una desaparición forzada”.
Guatemala
La condena de seis años de cárcel para Zamora agrava la amenaza al periodismo en Guatemala
Julie López, El Faro, 15 de junio de 2023
“Tras un proceso viciado en el que tuvo que cambiar de abogado nueve veces, el fundador de elPeriódico, José Rubén Zamora, fue condenado este miércoles por lavado de dinero. El periodista, que ha anunciado que apelará la sentencia, aún enfrenta tres procesos más en su contra. Con él detenido, presiones políticas aislaron financieramente a elPeriódico, que se vio forzado a cerrar hace un mes”.
Outrage in Guatemala as crusading journalist given six-year prison term
Nina Lakhani, The Guardian, Wednesday 14, 2023
“A veteran journalist and founder of one of Guatemala’s oldest newspapers has been sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.”
Guatemalan court convicts prominent journalist José Rubén Zamora
Jeff Abbott, AlJazeera, June 14, 2023
“An award-winning journalist in Guatemala has been convicted on criminal charges in what human rights observers call yet another blow to press freedom and democracy in the Central American country.”
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora convicted of money laundering, sentenced to 6 years in prison
Committee to Protect Journalists, June 14, 2023
“The shameful conviction and imprisonment of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of speech in the country and the desperate attempts of President Alejandro Giammattei’s government to criminalize journalism,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Guatemalan officials must end the absurd charade of criminal proceedings against him. It is time for José Rubén Zamora to be released, for his only ‘crime’ has been the fearless exercise of his profession.”
He Exposed Corruption in Guatemala. Now He’s Been Sentenced to Prison.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Jody García, The New York Times, June 14, 2023
“One of Guatemala’s most high-profile journalists was convicted on Wednesday of money laundering and sentenced to up to six years in prison, in a trial denounced by human rights and free speech advocates as another sign of the deteriorating rule of law.”
Paquete de Información Mensual de Guatemala: Número 236 – Mayo 2023
PBI Guatemala, 12 de junio de 2023
“Selección mensual de noticias de la coyuntura guatemalteca, destacadas por la prensa, relacionadas con temáticas prioritarias de PBI Guatemala: la lucha contra la impunidad, la problemática de la tierra y la defensa del territorio”.
Guatemala releases military officials convicted of grave crimes
Al Jazeera, June 10, 2023
“A Guatemalan appeals court disobeyed a ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by ordering the release of three former high-ranking military officers convicted of crimes against humanity.”
The Shadows of the Past Hang over Guatemala’s 2023 Elections
Emily Taylor, nacla, June 9, 2023
“Guatemala’s June 25 elections are troubled by anti-democratic backsliding and dominated by traditional elites, raising questions about their legitimacy.”
Honduras
Asesinan a Óscar Oquelí Domínguez, hermano de los defensores Alí y Reynaldo Domínguez
Marcia Perdomo, Criterio.hn, 15 de junio de 2023
“‘Que tragedia lleva la minería a las comunidades’, con estas palabras el abogado del bufete Justicia para los Pueblos, Edy Tábora, alertó sobre el tercer asesinato en 2023 ligado a la defensa del río Guapinol y el Parque Nacional Carlos Escaleras, agraviado por la instalación de un mega proyecto minero”.
Honduras: El Estado reconoce públicamente su responsabilidad en la ejecución extrajudicial del líder sindical Herminio Deras
FIDH, 12 de junio de 2023
“El gobierno hondureño realizará hoy un acto público de reconocimiento de responsabilidad internacional. El Estado de Honduras admite oficialmente su responsabilidad en la ejecución extrajudicial del líder sindical Herminio Deras en 1983, así como la tortura, hostigamiento y amenazas cometidas contra su esposa, hijos, hermanos, padres, tíos, sobrinos y primos durante más de treinta años”.
Las ejecuciones extrajudiciales siguen siendo un fenómeno generalizado en Honduras, afirma experto de la ONU
Noticias ONU, 2 de junio de 2023
“Honduras debe afrontar décadas de impunidad en materia de ejecuciones extrajudiciales y responsabilizar a los autores de esos atropellos, afirmó este viernes un experto independiente de la ONU”.
El Salvador
El Salvador slashes size of Congress ahead of elections
Nelson Renteria, Reuters, June 7, 2023
“El Salvador’s president signed into law an electoral reform on Wednesday that reduces the size of Congress by nearly a third, a move the ruling party says will reduce spending and critics say consolidates power ahead of elections.”
“There is enough evidence for El Salvador to be tried for crimes against humanity”
Julia Gavarrete, El Faro, June 7, 2023
“A new report from Cristosal, based in part on these testimonies, provides compelling evidence that the government of El Salvador has committed major crimes of state including, Navas says, crimes against humanity.”
La falsa guerra de Bukele contra la corrupción
El Faro, 5 de junio de 2023
“El pasado 1 de junio, Nayib Bukele se olvidó de rendir cuentas en el espacio previsto para que el presidente de la República rinda cuentas al poder Legislativo y a la nación. En lugar de ello, llegó al Salón Azul a ordenar a sus diputados la aprobación de un plan de reducción de municipios y de curules; y anunció el inicio de una guerra contra la corrupción, similar –dijo– a la que desató contra las pandillas. Esa noche, lo anunció él mismo, la fiscalía allanaba casas y terrenos supuestamente propiedad del expresidente Alfredo Cristiani”.
Regional
Civil Society and Access to Justice in Latin America
Julio Rios-Figueroa, Wilson Center, June 9, 2023
“Access to justice varies significantly, across countries and over time. Figure 1 compares the value of the Index of Access to Justice – produced by the Varieties of Democracy Project – in 2000 and 2022 for countries in the region. The index, ranging from 0 to 1, measures whether individuals can pursue justice without risk to their personal safety; if trials are fair; if citizens can address misconduct by public authorities; and if the rights to legal counsel and appeal are guaranteed. Countries on or close to the line remained at the same level between the two years. Countries above the line experienced positive changes. Countries below the line saw access to justice decline.”
‘It’s very dangerous to be an environmental activist in Latin America: if someone wants to kill you, they just pay a hitman $50’
Patricia R. Blanco, El País, June 5, 2023
“Since Michel Forst was commissioned last June to become the first United Nations Special Rapporteur for Environmental Defenders, he has not stopped working to secure support from politicians and civil society to protect these threatened activists. The French lawyer, who met political leaders and environmentalists in Madrid last week, is well aware of the risks they face. He was the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders between 2014 and 2020, and recalls how five environmental defenders were murdered after meeting with him in Colombia in 2018. ‘It happened at the end of my visit, not because they had met with me, but simply because of their dedication.’”
Gender and LGBTQ+
El activista Michel Castro estuvo diez días desaparecido y lo encontraron asesinado
Maby Sosa, Presentes, 7 de junio de 2023
“Michel Castro, un hombre gay y sordo de 32 años, fue visto por última vez el 25 de mayo. Ese día había asistido a la marcha del orgullo LGBT+ de Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Diez días después, gracias al esfuerzo de su mamá, la ciudadanía y organizaciones LGBT de la ciudad, encontraron su cuerpo sin vida y con signos de violencia. Estaba en un predio baldío cercano a donde vivía. Los activismos exigen que se investigue como un crimen de odio”.
Actions, Alerts, and Resources
Voices Behind the News: Promoting Freedom of Expression & Strengthening Independent Media in Central America
Wilson Center, Tuesday, June 20, 2023, 11:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
“Globally, democratic values are under assault. This is also true in parts of Central America, where leaders and criminal organizations are silencing public debate and quashing criticism, including by trampling on the rights of the region’s independent news media.”
Majority of U.S. Likely Voters Support Access to Asylum at the U.S. Southern Border
The Refugee Advocacy Lab, June 12, 2023
“The majority of likely voters across the United States are supportive of access to asylum at the U.S. southern border by a margin of +20 percent, according to a new poll released today by Data for Progress, the Refugee Advocacy Lab, and Refugees International. The poll was conducted twice from May 17 through 21, just a week after Title 42 – a pandemic-era restriction that allowed authorities to turn people seeking asylum away from the border – was lifted.”
*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.
