Unwittingly, the underage
migrants of Latin America have scored
a major achievement: getting the U.S. to acknowledge the many
facets of why these youngsters find it necessary to risk their lives.
The Undeniable Power of Our Migrant Children (Diario Co Latino, El Salvador)
"Unaccompanied Central American children have achieved what
all others efforts have failed to do: they have brought together the presidents
of the Northern Triangle countries with the world's most powerful chief
executive - Barack Obama How wonderful that the children have power. How
wonderful that they have managed to make presidents sit up and take notice, including
that of the empire, of the structural problems in their home countries. It is a
very good thing that the children have reminded Obama that he has an outstanding
debt to the migrants, who have been a major issue in his two election campaigns."
The
more than 50,000 unaccompanied Central American migrant children detained in
the United States, of which 10,000 to 12,000 are Salvadoran, have achieved what
all others efforts have failed to do: they have brought together the presidents
of the Northern Triangle countries with the world's most powerful chief
executive - Barack Obama.
The
issue of migrant children has become an issue at the highest political level, because
within a period of two or three weeks, the above number of children was detained
on the U.S. border.
News
spread like wildfire that in places the children were being kept, they were
being inadequately treated, in part because of the sheer number of infants, and
in part because of racism and suspicion in regard to protecting the U.S. border
leads the U.S. migratory authorities to ignore the international conventions, in
this case, to protect children.
The
crisis that led to the migration of these children forced the United States to
send its vice president, Joe Biden, to meet with the leaders of their countries
of origin: Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
During
that meeting, in addition to studying some of the mechanisms that were put into
practice immediately, such as reinforcing the borders and promoting campaigns
to raise family awareness on the subject of children travelling northward under
the "care of coyotes" - a meeting in Washington with Barack Obama was
also agreed.
Our
president, Salvador SánchezCerén,
travelled to Washington D.C. to meet Barack Obama, along with the presidents of
Honduras and Guatemala.
Undoubtedly,
the meeting with Obama, described by President Cerén as
"fruitful," was certainly "historic." We say it was
historic because we believe it was the first time that a president of the greatest
capitalist power met with presidents of the Northern Triangle to discuss the issue
of migration.
It
is historic, too, because of the agreements. Surely the main one, which was the
position of the Central American presidents, is that the United States will
respect a 2008 migratory law which stipulates that migrant children, who come
from a country that doesn't border the United States, should be brought before
a judge to decide whether they qualify for asylum or should be deported.
We
don't doubt that many thousands of our children will benefit from seeing a judge
and will achieve their "dream": to rejoin their mothers or fathers.
It
is also historic because the United States has finally acknowledged that the issue
of migration is the responsibility of several parties:the country of origin, the country of
transit, and of course, the country of destination.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Finally,
it is historic because, although migration is a characteristic of human nature,
in the case of the Northern Triangle countries, the causes are "structural,"
and combating it means helping them counter underdevelopment.
Hopefully,
this recognition will lead to the United States to sign the FOMILENIO II [anti-money laundering law], rather than
continuing to infringe on our sovereignty and dictating the reform of our laws.
How
wonderful that the children have power. How wonderful that they have managed to
make presidents sit up and take notice, including that of the empire, of the
structural problems in their home countries. It is a very good thing that the
children have reminded Obama that he has an outstanding debt to the migrants, who
have been a major issue in his two election campaigns.
