US moves to accept more Central American refugees

Though the move “is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough,” says Mike Allison, an associate professor of political science at the University of Scranton, in an email interview. “With tens of thousands of Central Americans attempting a dangerous journey through Mexico to the United States each year, it is hard to get overly excited about this new initiative to expand opportunities for a relatively small number of people from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras,” he adds.

Christine Wade and I have some commentary in the World Politics Review's Is a U.S. Move to Accept More Central American Refugees Too Little, Too Late?

On Tuesday, the Obama administration announced that it would admit more migrants from Central America into the United States as refugees, expanding a program that observers have criticized as inadequate in the face of an exodus of people, many of them unaccompanied minors, fleeing violence and poverty in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras over the past two years. Under the program to date, unaccompanied Central American children seeking to reunite with their families living in the United States have been allowed to apply for refugee status; since it came into effect in 2014, the program has received some 9,500 applications. 

With its expansion, children’s families will now be allowed to apply for refugee status, too, including their parents, siblings and relatives who are “caregivers.” Administration officials said that they hoped that opening a wider legal path for refugees into the country would dissuade Central Americans from making the dangerous journey north to the U.S.-Mexican border. 

It's too little, but not too late. I don't want to minimize the benefits that could accrue to thousands of citizens from Central America who might be helped by this change. Normalizing the travel of people between Central America and the United States is going to take decades.