The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center, La 72 Migrant Shelter, and the Jesuit Migration Network-Guatemala, cordially invite you to our webinar:
Since the implementation of the Southern Border Program (Programa Frontera Sur) in 2014, Mexico has played a growing role in containing regional migratory flows. Under pressure from the U.S. whenever there are significant increases in migrants arriving at the U.S-Mexico border, the Mexican government responds by deploying additional troops and migration agents to its southern border and expanding its enforcement operations. In recent years, the Guatemalan government has also assumed a growing role in migration control, violently stopping the last two migrant caravans and deploying the National Police and the army at checkpoints to review the papers of migrants travelling through the country.
Joe Biden’s coming to power as the U.S. president came with expectations of profound changes in the country’s migration policies. His administration has made important progress, implementing some 94 executive orders on migration, including the development of strategies for regional migration management and to address the root causes driving migration. However, up to this point the message to Mexico and Central America has been more focused on praising migration enforcement actions than on guaranteeing access to protection.
Join WOLA, the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center, La 72 Migrant Shelter, and the Jesuit Migration Network- Guatemala, on Thursday, May 27 at 10:00a.m. CDMX to discuss how migration control policies are being implemented on the ground, the deployment of security forces’ impact on the well-being and human rights of migrants and refugees, obstacles to accessing protection, and what can be expected from the upcoming meetings between Vice President Harris and the presidents of Mexico and Guatemala, among other topics.
Event Details:
Thursday, May 27, 2021
11:00 a.m. EDT, 10:00 a.m. CDMX
Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English and Spanish, available exclusively through Zoom.
Panelists:
Fray Gabriel Romero Alamilla
Director, La 72 Migrant Shelter, Tabasco, MX
Brenda Ochoa
Director, Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center, Chiapas, MX
José Luis González, SJ
Coordinator, Jesuit Migration Network-Guatemala
Moderator:
Vice President of Programs, WOLA