Latino USA: The Moving Border by Maria Hinojosa

 

Mexico wants to be a ‘destination’ for asylum seekers rather than a transit nation. "Last year more than 70,000 asylum petitions were filed, double the amount from the year prior. International refugee advocates say Mexico is struggling to actually provide a safe haven for these vulnerable migrants… many who are applying not because they feel any safer in Mexico, but because they see no viable way to reach the northern border. And they say the U.S. has followed a global trend of wealthier countries pursuing—and paying for— policies of ‘externalization’ that push migrants into poorer and less safe countries, rather than, rather than hosting refugees themselves."

In the Moving Border Part 2: The South Maria Hinojosa for Latino USA visits Tapachula, a city on the Mexico/Guatemala border in search of a young man from Honduras who has tried repeatedly to make it to the United States.   "And we learn just how devastating this policy can be for someone whose life is in constant risk."

 

Here is Part One of the series.

KJ