Migrant and Human Rights in Central America: A Guide
This post originally appeared on the Latin America Working Group's website.
Following a surge of unaccompanied migrants crossing the U.S. border through Mexico in June 2014, U.S. immigration and foreign policy has rapidly shifted. The Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) has released a guide intended as a resource for Central American, Mexican, regional and U.S. civil society organizations and interested individuals to understand these changes in U.S. immigrationand foreign policy towards Central America and Mexico. This guide suggests ways in which civil society organizations can work together throughout the region to maximize the opportunities and to minimize the risks in this critical moment for human rights and migrant rights.
In this report, Lisa Haugaard, Jennifer Johnson, and Emma Buckhout detail the current immigration and foreign policy changes taking place in the United States and Mexico, including President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, the U.S. government’s response to the surge in unaccompanied child migrants, ongoing dialogue between civil society and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection on the treatment of migrants in the United States, the Obama Administration’s actions to encourage Mexico to increase deportation of migrants, and the new U.S. aid package for Central America. In addition to painting a picture of current immigration and foreign policy changes, this guide provides recommendations of areas where civil society groups throughout the region can work together to improve regional policy to protect migrant rights.
For more information or press inquiries, please contact:
- Lisa Haugaard, lisah@lawg.org
- Emma Buckhout, ebuckhout@lawg.org
The full guide in English is available for download here.
The four-page executive summary of the guide is available for download here.