WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amid new reports of Central American migrants traveling or preparing to travel north toward the U.S., the need for a humane policy response is clear.
Such policy should center on the following:
- Improve the economic situation in Central America.
- Reinstate the Central American Minors program, which from 2014 to 2017 offered certain minors the opportunity to be considered for refugee resettlement while still in their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
- Improve infrastructure at ports of entry.
- Improve asylum processing capacity on the border.
- Ensure migrants have access to medical services.
“We can be both a secure and a compassionate nation,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. “The administration can add to chaos, or it can choose to reduce it. Unfortunately its track record does not bode well.
“Let’s not lose sight of our fundamental values. Our land of plenty can and must provide due process to people fleeing desperate situations and seeking asylum.
“The answer is not to do away with protections for migrant children. Safeguards such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) are critical.”
Additional National Immigration Forum resources include fact sheets on the following topics:
- Border Security Along the Southwest Border
- Family Separation at the U.S.-Mexico Border
- U.S. Asylum Process
- Immigration Detention
- Electronic Monitoring Devices as Alternatives to Detention
- Immigration Courts