Migration Matters

This is Migration Matters, a podcast by Contracorriente, an independent news outlet from Honduras. This is Season 3 Episode 5. Today we’ll go over: Mexican official facing charges related to the March 2023 fire released from prison, policy protecting undocumented spouses married to US citizens, Mexican pastor sentenced to prison over forced labor charges, staunch opposition to the State Department’s designation of Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT). Thank you for listening. If you want to know more about migration, politics, human rights, the environment, organized crime and many other issues in Central America, you can find us at contracorriente.red. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If you have any questions or comments you can email us at [email protected].

In this episode we look at: A preliminary injunction issued by a Florida judge against a key part of Gov. DeSantis’ anti-immigration law; The fire that broke out over a year ago in a detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, killing 40 migrants; Steps by the Biden administration to fast-track the asylum process; San Diego: A recent hotspot for border crossings; Migrant crossings down by more than 50 percent from record highs in December 2023; Panama’s president elect says he’ll shut down the Darien Gap; and the United States’s ambivalent stance on human rights abuses by the Salvadoran government. Thank you for listening. If you want to know more about migration, politics, human rights, the environment, organized crime and many other issues in Central America, you can find us at contracorriente.red. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If you have any questions or comments you can email me at [email protected].

In today’s episode we cover an immigration bill signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Axios’s poll on U.S. Latinos’ support for building a wall, how migrant workers benefit the U.S. economy, and migrants crossing the Darien jungle in Colombia and Panama. Thank you for listening. If you want to know more about migration, politics and human rights in Honduras and Central America, visit us at contracorriente.red/en

In today's episode we’ll look at recent developments concerning SB 4 (Senator Bill 4), a bill signed by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott in December 2023 that would allow law enforcement officers to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border into the U.S. We’ll also learn about a recent study carried out by Pew Research Center that reveals key information about record-high encounters with migrants in the U.S.-Mexico border in December 2023. Lastly, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was found guilty on three counts related to drug trafficking and weapons possession in New York. Thousands of Honduras fled to the U.S. during his administration as he turned the country into a narco-state.

We’re back with another episode of Migration Matters! Today we’ll be briefly discussing the political economy of border militarization. Tune in next episode for a continued conversation of these issues.

On Monday, March 27, an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico caught fire and left 40 migrants dead and 28 injured. Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed the migrants for the fire. But how were the migrants able to start a fire in the first place? And why did none of the guards open the cells when the fire started? The answer lies in the corruption and negligence of Mexico's National Immigration Institute

Before covid, the United States immigration system was struggling to keep up with the number of migrants arriving at the southern border but Title 42 changed everything when it temporarily lifted all legal requirements around the US asylum law. Title 42 permitted the United States to restrict and expel asylum seekers with no legal justification, temporarily hiding the growing cracks in the system. Now, with the end of the US Covid-19 national emergency, the Biden administration has to face the reality of a broken system. How will the US immigration system look post-title 42? What measure will the Biden administration implement to deal with the expected surge of migrants?

Title 42 seems to be the determining factor in the immigration trends of South, Central and North America. The policy has radically changed the way we understand the United States asylum seeking process and the future of thousands of migrants hang on its restrictions. But how did it work before title 42? Check out this episode to learn how Title 42 has changed the way the U.S asylum process works. Read more: https://contracorriente.red/en/

Hello again! Welcome to a new year and a new episode of Migration Matters! In this episode, we’ll dive into the policy changes at the U.S Southern Border, its various diplomatic visits, and the experiences of Cuban asylum seekers. Read more here: https://contracorriente.red/en/

Welcome to the first episode of Migration Matters Season 2!! In this episode we’ll dive into the demographics of the migrants crossing the Colombia-Panama border, discuss the asylum crisis in Mexico and look into the possible end of the U.S asylum policy known as Title 42.

#CCPodcast | Migration Matters is back ! Introducing Migration Matters Season !! Different voice, same great content! Tune in next week for our first episode where we will talk about recent migrant news in the Central American region! Talk to you all soon!!

Despite a discourse of supporting migrant rights, the Biden administration is now upholding Trump's border wall policy. Further, it is breaking records of deportations of migrants and refugees before they can ask for asylum, and has asked Mexico to receive more deported migrants.

Most migrants "rescued" by authorities are in fact detained, imprisoned, and deported. When authorities and the media use the term "rescued" they are distorting reality and impacting migrant rights. Migrants, on the other hand, are calling for the creation of a humanitarian corredor, so they can travel to the US without being in danger.

Little has improved on the Mexican side of the border after the end of Remain in Mexico. People are still being deported thanks to Title 42, and shelters are overwhelmed. As such, the precarious migrating conditions continue, with hundreds of migrants being found in a single house, one hotel, trucks, and more.

Honduras is setting an example by temporarily eliminating its fees for irregular migrants. But passing the policy, and implementing it, are turning out to be different things. Meanwhile, the US has ended Remain in Mexico, but Texas is using migrants as political pawns and sending them on buses to New York. Read more: https://contracorriente.red/en/

Just in the past few days, migrants died in one accident in Mexico, and were injured in another. Meanwhile, Biden met with the Mexican president and got the country to commit to funding the strengthening of border wall infrastructure.

The media have focused on the individuals driving the trailer that saw 53 refugees and migrants die of heat exhaustion and suffocation. But the important questions are why should people fleeing for their lives and seeking help have to hide in the first place? How would people smugglers or coyotes continue profiting if there was free movement of people? We review various recent tragic migration events, then look behind the curtain to what is actually spurring on the big business of smuggling.

People have seen images of police on horses on the US side of the Mexico-US border, but few have an idea of what it is like at Mexico's southern borden, where most of the detentions take place, and where people are stuck waiting for months. The economic and psychological effects can be catastrophic for the tens of thousands of refugees and migrants. See more: https://contracorriente.red/en/

As many heads of state boycott the Summit of the Americas, one of the largest migrant caravans has left Mexico's southern border. Black women migrants and refugees, meanwhile, face extra hardships on their journey, including sex slavery and discrimination. Subscribe to our newsletter : https://contracorriente.red/en/1-homepage-english/

Losing hope, migrants and refugees in Mexico have protested after the postponement of the ending of Title 42. Experts now say it could be a long time before it finally ends. Meanwhile, companies like Amazon are profiting from the illegal deportations of migrants by the US. Read more : https://contracorriente.red/en/

A caravan of mothers of forcibly disappeared migrants and refugees has been making its way through Mexico and drawing attention to the lack of any searches or information on the disappearances. President AMLO met with other leaders in the region to increase collaboration on migration and other related issues. Read more here: http://contracorriente.red/en/

In this episode we look at the differences in the US's migration policy to Ukrainian and Central American refugees. The US has also updated its formal Root Causes migration policy, with its own transnationals the main beneficiaries.

In this episode we look at the lifting of Title 42 and an ending to the US's policy of turning back all migrants and refugees. The measure will involve some other changes in the US's border measures, and has received a variety of reactions. We also look at the personal stories of some of these migrants as they face the impossible choice of staying at home and facing risks there, or migrating and facing kidnapping and other violence. See: https://contracorriente.red/en/2022/03/24/people-fleeing-a-tormented-country-arent-stopped-by-a-fear-of-being-kidnapped/

Title 42 has been used to deport 1.7 million migrants over the past two years and people in the US and Mexico have spoken out against it. Migrant frustration at Mexico's southern border continues, and the US and Costa Rica announced a joint migration agreement. Read more: https://contracorriente.red/en/

While many countries seem to be going out of their way to welcome Ukraine refugees - as they should - the same isn't true of Central American and Mexican people. Detentions throughout the US, Mexico, and Central America continue.

Migrants are forced to flee southern Honduras due to climate change and exploitation, while in southern Mexico migrant protests continue amid accusations of corrupt migration officials. Related story: Climate crisis and water scarcity sees refugees fleeing the Dry Corridor of southern Honduras https://contracorriente.red/en/2022/02/11/climate-crisis-and-water-scarcity-sees-refugees-fleeing-the-dry-corridor-of-southern-honduras/

Women migrants are experiencing extra violence and uncertainty due to US and Mexican migration policies, migrants in southern Mexico have been protesting for almost two weeks, and the US is considering legislation which would legalise millions of undocumented migrants in the country, but with some harsh pre-requisits. Read more about Honduras : https://contracorriente.red/en/

Migration in Central and North America is breaking records, with 2 million migrants detained at the US-Mexico border last year. Shelters in Mexico are struggling to cope, and people are joining caravans in light of a lack of a response from authorities. In Honduras, the country's diaspora have a message for the new president. news from honduras and the region here : https://contracorriente.red/en/

While Remain in Mexico is being reimplemented, conditions on the border are expensive and dangerous for migrants. In Mexico, migration officials are taking advantage of migrants and charging them high prices for essentials. And in Honduras, another caravan is getting ready to leave.

Remain in Mexico is being implemented again, with serious consequences for migrants who were already in the US, as well as for Mexico’s treatment of refugees and migrants around the country.

With Honduran elections coming up, guest speaker Jennifer Avila looks briefly at the consequences for migration. We also follow the migrant caravans, one of which is still going, while the second accepted a government deal. And, Texas is building a wall of trailer containers to keep migrants out, while migrating without documents is more expensive than you might think.

The migrant caravan has reached Oaxaca as the land border opens in the US. Two revelations put US migration policy under the spotlight.

Thousands of migrants are walking from southern Mexico in a caravan for "peace, justice, and freedom." While the US and Mexico have been clear that they won't be able to cross into the US, and Mexican security forces are likely to turn them back, they are aware that they have no other options. Also, detentions at the US-Mexico border have reached record highs, and deported Central Americans are arriving back in the countries they fled in the middle of the night and the middle of nowhere.

In this episode, find out why the newly announced open land borders won’t help refugees, how Haitian migrants are being treated by the US and Mexico, and the reasons why there are more Haitians migrating at the moment.

The US is re-implementing Remain in Mexico, and that is already having harsh and life-threatening consequences for migrants and refugees. Under pressure from the US, Mexico is violently deporting people down to Guatemala, including people with documents allowing them to be in mexico.

In the latest round-up of migrant news we look at the implications of the most recent US policy, take a deep dive into the recently released US migrant root causes strategy doc, examine some stories from on the ground in Honduras and Mexico, and look at the complex and wretched consequences of the current restraints on migration in the region.

From access to healthcare and vaccines through to even more exploitation and greater danger, the pandemic has compounded the risks and obstacles that migrants and refugees face. In this second episode, we look at the impact of Covid, cover the rough journey north, overview recent US policy on Central America and Mexican migrants, and dig deep into the complexities of the US getting involved in the region’s corruption problems.

In this first episode of Migrant matters we look at Kamala Harris’ recent visit to Guatemala and Mexico, and the business interests and US foreign policy underlying her comments. We examine the dangers of the current US border policy, look at the risk and hardship migrants undergo to arrive at the border, and wrap up with an overview of recent repression against migrants and activists.