Mexico has promised to take action on Central American migrants seeking to illegally enter the United States, but it is unclear whether the words have been put into action, Fox News reported Wednesday.
The Mexican government says it is catching and deporting more Central Americans than before. The National Immigration Institute said the number of detained minors through the first half of the year was 10,505, which is more than in all of 2013. What is unclear is if the increase is due to ramped up anti-immigration measures or if the number of detentions is simply rising with an increasing number of Central Americans moving through Mexico.
The issue shows no signs of slowing, with American officials taking trips to Central America to deliver a stern message to everyone who considers taking a US-bound route, according to Fox News. The news agency also mentions that US President Barack Obama is seeking $3.7 billion from Congress to respond to the crisis. About 44,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras were apprehended at the US border from October to June.
For many Mexicans the situation has become a source of opportunity, as Central Americans can be found working in bars and dance halls in Mexico. Mexican goods also tend to be bought in large quantities to be resold later in the United States at a higher price.
However, it is not only the United States that is negatively affected by the immigrant flow. Blogger Michael Allison from centralamericanpolitics.blogspot.com, referencing the Christian Science Monitor and Middlebury College Professor of Anthropology David Stoll, says the movement of people from Central America to the United States causes problems in the immigrants’ home countries.
Allison notes that local economies suffer distortions as a result of the remittances sent home, while families break up as men often leave behind their wives and children. Immigrants’ attempts to financially support family from the United States often fail, as they struggle to find steady jobs. Even both parents may fail at supporting their children, which can lead to them entering gangs.
Pope Francis remarked that these children should be taken care of and welcomed, instead of being sent back to the poverty and violence of their home countries that they tried to escape.
“This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected,” Allison was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.
Director of Tijuana's Binational Center for Human Rights Victor Clark, on the contrary, predicts that Mexico will finally yield to US pressure and establish a semi-closed border. However, it appears likely that instead of stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, the measure will only make smugglers richer by charging higher prices.
According to US Customs and Border Protection data, so far in 2014, more than 57,000 children have entered the United States through the Southwest Border, which is almost 30,000 more than over the same period in 2013. The largest numbers come from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
