CANA – Increases flow, increases risk, increases restriction -Update of the Migration Context January 2024
Through different instruments and processes, the Advocacy Dimension of RJM CANA constantly monitors the evolution of the migratory context in the region. Since 2024, it agreed to disseminate the main regional headlines in four-monthly publications.
This first publication of 2024 provides an overview of the latest data, changes and trends in the context of most of the region's countries (Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Canada). We deeply regret that we cannot report from Nicaragua after most of our work there was closed following the UCA's closure and the Jesuits' expulsion.
From the information monitored, several elements can be affirmed:
- The upward trend of flows in the region is confirmed. Panama tells us that 2023 was a record year for the number of people crossing through the Darién, confirmed in every country, with data from official sources and observations on the ground.
- The plurinational flow that crossed the Darién from South America, mainly seeking to enter the United States, is consolidated throughout the region. Since 2020, this flow has comprised at least 62 nationalities led by Venezuelan migration, but the presence of Ecuadorian nationals is also strongly associated with it.
- This southern continental flow northwards should not obscure how the Central American region remains an expulsion territory; from Honduras or El Salvador, they report the estimable percentages of the population that wish to migrate. For its part, Mexico, which has established itself as a forced destination for so many people migrating from other countries, continues to generate the most significant flow of nationals on the northern border.
- Each border in the region is a wall where the inhumane conditions of detention centres, the costly procedures, the unpunished presence of smuggling networks, and many other risks are all found.
- The restrictive nature of migration policies across the region is reflected in the increase in detentions and the use of deportation. The securitist policy approach is more evident in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
- Reflecting on the above, we see how proposals that focus on a response to other situations on the planet (Ukraine, Gaza) are being approved in the United States, introducing measures that seek to reduce the flow from the region, increasing levels of fear, or opening the door to other extraordinary containment mechanisms,
- Several countries draw attention to the security of migrants; it is a common element throughout the journey from Panama to the north. In Mexico, it is particularly problematic (massive kidnapping, extortion, violence, etc.).
You can access
all the information from this CANA impact dimension report in this link.
Source: redjeusitasmigranteslac.org
Related Posts:
The Jaboticaba Agricultural Family School in Brazil reuses water for sustainable food production in a semi-arid region. Since 1993, it has combined agroecology with wastewater treatment to enhance food security and educate students. The project promotes environmental sustainability and aims to influence public policies in line with Pope Francis’s call for integral ecology.
His journey was marked by a profound sense of detachment, as he left behind his nationality, culture, security, history, and companions to embrace a completely foreign environment.
Jesuit Network with Migrants Central America and North America (RJM CANA) shared the first four months of the year report (January – April 2024): "They have been months of a lot of work to face the challenges in the migration context characterized by an increase in the migratory flow in vulnerable conditions throughout the region, however, also These have been months in which the fruits of networking have been confirmed".
From April 5 to 7, the Jesuit Radio Network in the Dominican Republic met at the facilities of the Loyola Polytechnic Institute (IPL) in San Cristóbal. During the meeting, the construction of a shared itinerary that seeks to focus on collaboration and contextualized radio communication marked by the Apostolic Preferences approved by the Society of Jesus for the coming years was highlighted.
On Wednesday, April 10, the European Parliament voted on the European Pact on Asylum and Migration. JRS Europe directors jointly opposed the pact and urged European institutions to reject it: "We cannot support a system that will allow the systematic detention of thousands of people, including children, at the EU external borders."
The Cartagena Declaration, adopted in 1984, emerged in response to the growing displacement crises in Latin America. Its importance lies in its expanded approach to defining a refugee, recognising the causes of displacement beyond armed conflict events. Despite progress in these 40 years, implementation challenges of the recognition criteria and the commitments made in the adopted plans persist.
