Central American asylum seekers made the news last July and August as many migrants traveled from as far away as Guatemala and Honduras to seek asylum in the United States. They are again making the news now as the number of asylum seekers applying for asylum in Mexico have dramatically increased as they recognize their limited options. This is in large part due to the Trump administration instituting a policy that forces asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they await their court dates. It has been many weeks with migrants in Mexico towns and many are just choosing to settle in Mexico instead.
In this article a BBC reporter talks with Sister Magdelena – a nun running an asylum shelter in Mexico. Sister Magdelena says that the problem of Mexico getting bogged down with immigrants (80,000 over the last seven years) is further exacerbated by Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s chronic lack of funding for basic asylum and refugee services. With both Mexico and the US refusing to take decisive action in aiding the asylum seekers civil society groups and Church organisations like hers have to rely on international bodies like the UNHCR for support instead.
Trump’s hardline stance on not only immigration but also asylum seekers does not look like something that is going to change any time soon. Even with the recent hurricane in the Bahama’s Trump turned away Bahamanians seeking asylum due to lack of documentation. This hardline stance is again seen with the US lowering the number of refugees it will take in next year to 18,000. It seems short sighted for the Trump administration to ignore the southern border crisis away by delaying entry. As a global leader the United States has a responsibility to help out its partners. The US does not need a strained relationship with Mexico (who is a valuable trade partner). A reasonable deal between the two countries would benefit the international community, but given the Trump administration’s past response to similar situations it is unlikely that the administration will allow in more asylum seekers then they are forced to.