Migration Matters Migration Matters

In this episode we look at: A preliminary injunction issued by a Florida judge against a key part of Gov. DeSantis’ anti-immigration law; The fire that broke out over a year ago in a detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, killing 40 migrants; Steps by the Biden administration to fast-track the asylum process; San Diego: A recent hotspot for border crossings; Migrant crossings down by more than 50 percent from record highs in December 2023; Panama’s president elect says he’ll shut down the Darien Gap; and the United States’s ambivalent stance on human rights abuses by the Salvadoran government.

Thank you for listening. If you want to know more about migration, politics, human rights, the environment, organized crime and many other issues in Central America, you can find us at contracorriente.red. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If you have any questions or comments you can email me at ccenglish@contracorriente.red.

In today’s episode we cover an immigration bill signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Axios’s poll on U.S. Latinos’ support for building a wall, how migrant workers benefit the U.S. economy, and migrants crossing the Darien jungle in Colombia and Panama. Thank you for listening. If you want to know more about migration, politics and human rights in Honduras and Central America, visit us at contracorriente.red/en

In today's episode we’ll look at recent developments concerning SB 4 (Senator Bill 4), a bill signed by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott in December 2023 that would allow law enforcement officers to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border into the U.S. We’ll also learn about a recent study carried out by Pew Research Center that reveals key information about record-high encounters with migrants in the U.S.-Mexico border in December 2023. Lastly, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was found guilty on three counts related to drug trafficking and weapons possession in New York. Thousands of Honduras fled to the U.S. during his administration as he turned the country into a narco-state.

We’re back with another episode of Migration Matters! Today we’ll be briefly discussing the political economy of border militarization. Tune in next episode for a continued conversation of these issues.

On Monday, March 27, an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico caught fire and left 40 migrants dead and 28 injured. Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed the migrants for the fire. But how were the migrants able to start a fire in the first place? And why did none of the guards open the cells when the fire started? The answer lies in the corruption and negligence of Mexico's National Immigration Institute

Before covid, the United States immigration system was struggling to keep up with the number of migrants arriving at the southern border but Title 42 changed everything when it temporarily lifted all legal requirements around the US asylum law. Title 42 permitted the United States to restrict and expel asylum seekers with no legal justification, temporarily hiding the growing cracks in the system. Now, with the end of the US Covid-19 national emergency, the Biden administration has to face the reality of a broken system. How will the US immigration system look post-title 42? What measure will the Biden administration implement to deal with the expected surge of migrants?