Central American migrants calling Mexico home
David Agren has an interesting article on the increasing number of Central Americans who are abruptly stopping their journeys north - in Mexico.
A few guys were going to head to Tijuana where they thought it might be safer to cross. Another guy, some time Sushi chef in Chicago and some time hardwood floor installer in Utah, and his friends were going to work for a week or two an hour from Nogales so that they could earn some money to cross. He made roughly $30 per hour so he was heading back to the States.
Another guy from California had lived in the US for three-to-four decades. After his third DUI, he was deported. He had been living in Nogales for eight or nine months and didn't really know what to do. While he seemed to understand what he had done was wrong, he wasn't quite sure that losing his home country was an appropriate punishment.
Finally, several Central Americans were at the border. They were weighing their options. Should they apply for asylum in the US, they were most likely going to spend six months or more in detention before their hearings. They weren't sure whether the low likelihood of a successful asylum case was worth it. In the end, I think that they decided to cross and try their luck out in the desert.
There's a whole mix of people along the border - not sure whether they are coming or going.
Nowadays, an increasing number of migrants are thinking about Mexico as a more appealing option because of U.S. restrictions on refugee resettlement. For the migrants, it’s more about finding somewhere safe.
Mexico has been more a transit country for migrants than a destination, even though the nation has a history of welcoming asylum seekers. The most recent example occurred during the 1980s as civil wars forced thousands of people to flee Central America.
The operators of Catholic-run migrant shelters, which operate throughout the country, along with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, say today’s trend stems from the dangers of the Northern Triangle countries.The difficulties of crossing the US border and the often inhospitable welcome that they receive on the other side, is making Central Americans rethink whether crossing the border is worth it. While at the border a few weeks ago, I met several individuals who were putting a great deal of thought into the benefits of crossing the border. Some had lived in the US for years before being deported. They did not have money to recross the border (cartels will charge you $300-$600) simply to cross territory that they own.
A few guys were going to head to Tijuana where they thought it might be safer to cross. Another guy, some time Sushi chef in Chicago and some time hardwood floor installer in Utah, and his friends were going to work for a week or two an hour from Nogales so that they could earn some money to cross. He made roughly $30 per hour so he was heading back to the States.
Another guy from California had lived in the US for three-to-four decades. After his third DUI, he was deported. He had been living in Nogales for eight or nine months and didn't really know what to do. While he seemed to understand what he had done was wrong, he wasn't quite sure that losing his home country was an appropriate punishment.
Finally, several Central Americans were at the border. They were weighing their options. Should they apply for asylum in the US, they were most likely going to spend six months or more in detention before their hearings. They weren't sure whether the low likelihood of a successful asylum case was worth it. In the end, I think that they decided to cross and try their luck out in the desert.
There's a whole mix of people along the border - not sure whether they are coming or going.
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