The Latin American Report # 370

Honduran migrants are the largest national group in Tijuana waiting to cross into U.S. territory, most with CBP One mobile app-powered appointments to arrive at a port of entry in a planned manner, reports EFE. In addition to Hondurans, a Baja California official says that Salvadoran, Haitian, and Guatemalan migrants are also recurrently present in the border city. It seems that the hope of migrants has not been completely extinguished after the outcome of the U.S. elections, as Trump promised to eliminate immigration programs that have been beneficial to thousands of Latin American citizens. The main problem I see after reading the reasons Honduran migrants give for leaving their country is, once again, that no case objectively applies to obtain political asylum. They all cite violence and in general dynamics associated with organized crime as the main reasons. For example, this is why Keylin Cruz left Honduras:

[I left because] of crime, and in addition to that, my house burned down accidentally, which left us with nothing because a while ago my father, my brother, and my aunt were killed. With all this, I was left on the street and that is why I decided to leave with my children because we also need care for one of my daughters who suffers from asthma... Many people are leaving my country because [...] if you go to work there, [criminals] charge you a 'tax' (extortion), you have to pay them. And if there are two [gangs in the area] you have to pay two taxes and with that situation, you can't have a business because if you don't pay the tax they come and attack or kill you... The economic situation [...] is very bad, there are many single mothers [...] and there are no jobs. You also have to know who you are going to leave your children to [if you find a job] because [gangs] even want to recruit the youngest children so that they can go into crime [early] and it is severe.

Certainly, none of the above justifies the potential approval of political asylum. And there are more clouds for migrants. The potential chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the controversial Rand Paul, promises to bless the reactivation of an executive measure implemented by the Trump 1.0 administration that forced migrants to remain on Aztec soil while their asylum cases are heard in U.S. courts. “Our first hearing will examine reinstating the successful `Remain in Mexico' policy from the first Trump administration... We will also expeditiously move President Trump's critical nominees, including [Trump's pick for DHS] Governor Kristi Noem, in time for Inauguration Day,” stated Paul. We will be aware of all the implications of the Trump administration for the region, for better or worse.

European agricultural producers protest against potential Mercosur-EU free trade deal

This week the tough position of European agricultural unions, mainly in Brussels and Paris, has been in the news. They are pressing for the non-approval of a long-negotiated deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc, an aspiration above all of Brazil. In recent years, the main obstacle to the conclusion of the agreement had been a European law—the application of which was suspended—which sets high standards for environmental protection, preventing the importation of agricultural products from deforested lands, a common practice in the region between legal or de facto approvals by authorities, or too-weak "controls". France is the country most opposed to the potential agreement, with the government and farmers on the same wavelength. The narrative is that competition would be unfair, as standards for farmers are stricter in the “old continent”. “As it stands this agreement jeopardizes fair trade and the future of millions of French producers and the agri-food chain that depends on them,” said the French leader of a meat producer association. Nearly 100,000 tons of beef, 180,000 tons of poultry, and 1 million tons of corn would flood European markets if the deal is finally signed.

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.