I have strong opinions on this subject, I just don't have the clarity to straight up all my thoughts concisely, so be warned about the incoming stream of consciousness rant ahead.
Suffice to say this has been a controversial subject in my country, and between the outgoing and incoming administrations they're just playing a game of hot potato with these issues.
While incumbent president Peña Nieto initially deployed troops and federal agents to the border with Guatemala, president elect Lopez Obrador has stayed on the sidelines, stating his moral support for the migrants, but otherwise remaining silent regarding any actions before or after he's sworn into office on December 1st.
Spokespeople for the caravan, meanwhile, have turned down any offers made by the government and calls to dialogue, other than demanding things like shelter, food and even transport while they cross through our country on their way to the US.*
* A couple hundred of those migrants did request asylum within Mexico.
I think a lot of people don't realize that we've been dealing with problems related to central american migrants for a while now, going back to deporter-in-chief Obama's first term, and possibly to Dubya's. It's not a problem with an easy solution, as they come from countries that are even more fucked up than mine in a lot of different ways. But it's impossible to deny that coming here doesn't do much in the way of helping them, and their presence only exacerbates our own problems, while bringing some of their own problems with them wherever they go.
I live in a border city on the northwest, and since most people who come from Central America head straight north towards the northeast, we don't get a lot of these people here. We do have a substantial population of Haitian and Venezuelan refugees, and for the most part they are a net benefit for the community in many different ways as of today, but that took a lot of adjustments. Bringing so many people at once is unsustainable both in short and long runs. Not only is it a logistical nightmare to take them in and would exhaust any resources faster than we could provide, it also draws a lot of attention, and regardless of the political stances of our leaders, it's wont to create discomfort among the general population.
That's assuming they can pass right through to their destination so they can become Trump's problem. That's not very likely to happen, but if it did, it would only encourage further efforts.
It's already happening.
Best case scenario, they apply for refugee status in the US, but they still have to stay behind our borders for weeks, or months, or perhaps even longer. There's already big camping sites outside US consulates in cities such as Juarez and Tijuana, packed with hundreds of people requesting entry into the United States in any sort of way. Not to mention the thousands who seek to enter illegally, and those who get deported every day and become homeless.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do the humanitarian thing and help these people while they're here in any way we can, whether they stay or not. I just don't think it's a good idea to encourage them to risk their lives (and compromise ours) if they keep doing this. It needs to stop.
Finally, what motivated me to take the time to comment in the first place
JamishT wrote:Mexico should step up and be the first world country they claim to be.
No one in their right minds would claim we're anywhere close to being a first world country. And if anyone believes it when people say that, get in touch with me. I have a bridge to sell you. It's a pretty good deal too.