Activism in a Time Crunch: Intro to the Central American refugee crisis
Central American asylum seekers are trapped in legal limbo. Learn something. Do something.
Learn something
In 1 minute
The Basics:
Central Americans are fleeing violence in the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador) where gang and drug violence has made the governments unable to keep their citizens protected. They want to seek safety in the U.S., but everyone (GOP and Democrat) is pushing for them to stay in danger longer at home by deporting anyone that doesn’t come through a slow refugee processing system. Hundreds of thousands are trying to get out. Tens of thousands can be helped by the current program. Anyone that goes outside is a target for Obama’s current deportation policy — so much for “felons, not families.”
In 10 minutes
Read Julie Morse’s piece in the Pacific Standard about the effects of President Obama’s current deportation scheme.
At Riverside High School, [Wildin David Guillén ] Acosta thrived. He fit the profile of a good-faith student working hard while also holding a job as a cook at a local restaurant. “I had everything ready to go to college. I had everything planned out for me and then they got me, and here I am. I thought I was going to get out before graduation, but that didn’t happen,” he says.
In January, ICE initiated a campaign to carry out raids targeting Central American families who migrated to the U.S. in 2014. Since January 23, ICE has detained 336 migrants under the agency’s “Operation Border Guardian,” often [resulting] in deportations.” Acosta [is] a part of the group referred to by activists as the “NC6,” — a group of teenage males from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, all with clean records, most of whom were on their way to work or school when ICE arrested them.
In 30 minutes
Listen to NPR’s Embedded as they report from El Salvador’s capital of San Salvador on the day that gangs shut down the city.
Do something
In 1 minute
Learn the difference between migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Then, teach someone else.
Beyond this, refugees are people who have sought asylum and registered with a government or the UN and may be resettled in a third country.
Remember, the right to seek asylum in a safe country is part of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights — in short, words really matter here.
In 5 minutes
Instead of just talking to a friend, call one of your state or national representative. Explain to them why Central Americans fleeing to America aren’t just migrants, but asylum seekers who have the right to do so.
To figure out who your national representative is, use this link. If it gives you more than three answers for your ZIP code, senators are state-wide and always a safe call.
