Trump's latest immigration move might be his most dangerous
Source: ThinkProgress
Trumps latest immigration move might be his most dangerous
Forcing asylum seeking families to live in a country with high femicide rates will have disastrous results.
REBEKAH ENTRALGO
JUL 29, 2019, 1:17 PM
Asylum seekers from countries other than Mexico and Canada will be forced to stay in Guatemala after reaching the U.S.-Mexico border if they failed to first apply for asylum in the Central American nation, according to a safe third country agreement President Donald Trump signed on Friday.
Implementation of the agreement, which would disproportionately impact migrants fleeing gang and domestic violence in Honduras and El Salvador, faces an uphill battle considering Guatemalas own constitutional court has granted three injunctions barring the government from entering into a deal without approval of the countrys congress.
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The idea that Guatemala, a country whose own residents make up the highest number of families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, is a safe country for vulnerable migrants should be rejected on its face.
Guatemala has one of the highest rates of femicide anywhere in the world, with over 670 reported cases in 2017 and 711 reported cases in 2016 according to the Guatemalan Womens Group.
Amnesty International found that human rights abusers can literally get away with murder in Guatemala, particularly when their victims are women. Less than 4% of homicide cases result in the conviction of those responsible. The other two countries with similarly high rates of gender-based violence are El Salvador and Honduras. Asylum seekers, who are likely fleeing that same violence in their Northern Triangle home countries, will be forced to stay in Guatemala where the risk of being harmed may be even higher.
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Read more:
https://thinkprogress.org/why-trumps-latest-immigration-move-may-be-his-most-dangerous-c6b0ee40a19c/