The Mass Migration of Children Mexican Authorities 'Missed' (El Universal, Mexico)
"The Foreign Ministry says that things are going well. Deputy
Foreign Secretary Vanessa Rubio says that as migrant children from other
countries pass through Mexico, the authorities ensure that they are protected in
shelters. ... The fact is that the Mexican authorities are not substantially addressing
or preventing the problem. Otherwise, 24,000 children traveling alone, mostly from
Central American countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, wouldn't now
be detained in the United States. None came by sea or from across the Canadian
border."
Due to the
crisis involving migrant children in the United States, President Barak Obama has
called for additional resources, as opposition Congressmen demand a more rapid
closure of the border and members of civil society have gone to the streets to
express their points of view. And in Mexico? The Foreign Ministry says that
things are going well. To address a problem, one must begin by recognizing it.
Deputy
Foreign Secretary Vanessa Rubio says that as migrant children from other
countries pass through Mexico, the authorities ensure that they are protected in
shelters run by the National Institute of Migration. [According to Excelsior columnist Martín Espinosa,
the budget of the National Institute of Migration is only capable of servicing
5 percent of the total number of Central American migrants traversing Mexican territory].
She said this in response to a statement of the first lady of Honduras, Ana
Garcia de Hernandez, who criticized Mexican permissiveness regarding the transit
of children and their abuse during their journey.
The
fact is that the Mexican authorities are not substantially addressing or
preventing the problem. Otherwise, 24,000 children traveling alone, mostly from
Central American countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, wouldn't now
be detained in the United States. None came by sea or from across the Canadian
border.
There
must be a sense of urgency. The U.S. authorities have estimated that if the migration
trends of the past few months continue, the number of unaccompanied children this
year alone could reach 90,000, and in 2015, it could
reach 142,000.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Mexico
must also act on the unintended consequences of child immigration. Many of the
Central American children deported from the U.S. may end up trying to stay in
this country, and may have no other choice, which would make them the focus of potential
humanitarian crisis on our nation's soil.
This
is also an opportunity for Mexico to demonstrate that it can control the influx
of undocumented aliens without militarizing the border and criminalizing
migrants. What better way to promote the cause of the regularizing Mexicans in
the United States than to demonstrate the feasibility of providing humane treatment
on their own territory?
The
country of origin, the country of transit, and the country of reception have a
shared responsibility. None should
assume that its own “fault” in the mess is any less than the others and
therefore is unnecessary to address.
