Migration Matters

With Honduran elections coming up, guest speaker Jennifer Avila looks briefly at the consequences for migration. We also follow the migrant caravans, one of which is still going, while the second accepted a government deal. And, Texas is building a wall of trailer containers to keep migrants out, while migrating without documents is more expensive than you might think.

The migrant caravan has reached Oaxaca as the land border opens in the US. Two revelations put US migration policy under the spotlight.

Thousands of migrants are walking from southern Mexico in a caravan for "peace, justice, and freedom." While the US and Mexico have been clear that they won't be able to cross into the US, and Mexican security forces are likely to turn them back, they are aware that they have no other options. Also, detentions at the US-Mexico border have reached record highs, and deported Central Americans are arriving back in the countries they fled in the middle of the night and the middle of nowhere.

In this episode, find out why the newly announced open land borders won’t help refugees, how Haitian migrants are being treated by the US and Mexico, and the reasons why there are more Haitians migrating at the moment.

The US is re-implementing Remain in Mexico, and that is already having harsh and life-threatening consequences for migrants and refugees. Under pressure from the US, Mexico is violently deporting people down to Guatemala, including people with documents allowing them to be in mexico.

In the latest round-up of migrant news we look at the implications of the most recent US policy, take a deep dive into the recently released US migrant root causes strategy doc, examine some stories from on the ground in Honduras and Mexico, and look at the complex and wretched consequences of the current restraints on migration in the region.

From access to healthcare and vaccines through to even more exploitation and greater danger, the pandemic has compounded the risks and obstacles that migrants and refugees face. In this second episode, we look at the impact of Covid, cover the rough journey north, overview recent US policy on Central America and Mexican migrants, and dig deep into the complexities of the US getting involved in the region’s corruption problems.

In this first episode of Migrant matters we look at Kamala Harris’ recent visit to Guatemala and Mexico, and the business interests and US foreign policy underlying her comments. We examine the dangers of the current US border policy, look at the risk and hardship migrants undergo to arrive at the border, and wrap up with an overview of recent repression against migrants and activists.