The Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Catholic Relief Services hosted an event at the U.S. Capitol Building last week to discuss immigration on both sides of the Southern U.S. border, mainly, that coming from the Central American Northern Triangle. The event was divided into two panels: Addressing the Root Causes of Migration and Meeting the Needs of Families in the United States. The following text summarizes lessons learned to continue the discussion, starting with the portrayal of the matter in the media.
According to the news anchor Enrique Acevedo, the migration conversation in the United States needs to be nuanced. This debate has been overtaken with lies because it benefits a group that seeks to gain popularity by misinforming. However, it is crucial that the United States, as a country, both redirects the talks back to facts and includes the voices of immigrants. For starters, this dialogue must explain to the U.S. population why the immigration debate should matter to them: because it makes the U.S. stronger.
The president and CEO of the HHF, Jose Antonio Tijerino, set the tone for the event when he said that migration in the U.S. cannot be treated solely as a domestic issue—it must be analyzed from both domestic and international perspectives. Therefore, it is important to understand the drivers that lead citizens of the Northern Triangle to leave their homes. As our Founder Leopoldo Martínez described in the Latino Debate on this region, these factors are chiefly violence, climate change, and a lack of opportunity in their home countries. The interaction of the three has both increased the numbers of and shifted the demographics of these migrants (which is explained later on). Since 2005 until 2011, the number of migrants from Central America in transit was declining. However, the trend started to grow again, reaching 417 thousand in 2015.
The first lines of Home, written by Warsan Shire:
no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well
When having a debate on immigration that will lead to policy, it is crucial to remember that behind those numbers are people. We cannot forget the inherit humanity in each individual and their unalienable human rights, including the right to health. Many of the panelists touched on this subject. For example, some policies cause these migrants to avoid seeking medical attention for them or their children, fearing being quarantined for having a fever. Children who experience trauma, such as sexual abuse or being separated from parents, are exposed to mental health illnesses. Specially during this month of Mental Health Awareness, we must speak for those humans who are in need of medical attention and lack the resources.
On the international side of the debate, former Ambassador to Mexico, Roberta Jacobson, described how the U.S. approaches these issues in the region. When looking into how to best aid the countries of the Northern Triangle, the U.S. looks into how it can add value—what can they do that no one else can? At times, the U.S. gets unequally involved in citizen security over the economy. However, the assistance works better as a place-based strategy. The U.S. was not preventing gang violence and economic opportunities in the same places, but they have learned it is important to do both in the same area.
The vast majority of USAID in the region does not go to the governments. However, it is important to be able to work with them to achieve the objectives. One of the challenges that come along with this is political volatility. The three countries in the Triangle—El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—are in different political cycles, so the government partners are constantly changing. Similarly, bureaucracy and corruption test the partnerships with these governments. When aid is administered, there are some conditions attached to it, which demands checks and balances from institutions independent of the government. In spite of these challenges, it is important to remain working with these governments. If the United States leaves, other partners will replace it (i.e. China), and they will not have the same conditionality.
When governments work with the partners, new policy is implemented that benefits the region. For example, in El Salvador prisons were 300% at capacity. Criminals who entered one of them left unreformed, sometimes even more ruthless. However, that started to change when policy created a rehabilitation program that offered cognitive behavioral therapy. Other policies have to be designed to reduce violence, both in gangs and at home. According to Richard Jones, children who see domestic violence at home are vulnerable and can lead to them joining one of the gangs, creating a vicious cycle.
Aid is designed to pass responsibilities on to local solutions. In addition to the government, the private sector plays an important role for this goal. However, so far this sector has been hesitant to step up to the demands of the country. The countries in the Northern Triangle have reached the debt ceiling, 77% of their economy is informal, and foreign investment is half the average in the rest of the region. In Veronica Zavala’s words, the private sector needs to stop being part of the problem and become part of the solution.
Domestically, policies have to change. With actions such as cutting off any aid to the region and the three drivers of migration intensifying, caravans are set to continue marching through Mexico to the U.S. border. Previously, men migrated north for temporary work. However, with more restrictions on these opportunities they have been pushed to request asylum as a solution to their needs. Likewise, the migrants’ demographic shifted and now women and children are also migrating. Staying in their countries is become less of a viable option. As Enrique Acevedo coherently worded it, the U.S. cannot greet these migrants with the same failed policies it has at the moment. For one, the system at the border cannot differentiate how it addresses the case of a refugee from that of an immigrant. Additionally, the case of 12.2 million undocumented immigrants is unfavorable for all parties involved. Therefore, it is time to work together, stop equating migration to crime, and come up with a better solution of the United States.
Thank you to both the HHF and CRS for hosting this important event, as well as to the panelists and moderators—Adriana Beltrán, Enrique Acevedo, Rick Jones, Ambassador Jacobson, Veronica Zavala Lombardi, Ashley Feasley, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, Luis Cardona, Maria Gomez, and Sister Norma Pimentel, and Dan Restrepo and John Feeley—for an insightful conversation and look into how to lead the next immigration reform.
