Humanity First: The Summer Edition

Last month, we watched images of a father and daughter wash up on the banks of the Rio Grande. From El Salvador, they were hoping to make it to the US. They are part of many images that we’ve seen over the years of migrants fleeing their homes, whether in Central America, or in the Middle East — recalling the image of Alan Kurdi who washed up on Turkish shores in 2015.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard about the horrendous conditions in US “detention” centers, where there is no clean water or access to basic hygienic products such as toothpaste and soap — this in the richest country in the world. We also heard about the secret Facebook page, where some border agents joke about migrant deaths and leave derogatory and sexist comments about migrants. All we can say is: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? Whatever your politics, whatever your position on immigration, people fleeing from their homeland are human. Humanity first — before any nation or commercial interest.

• The US State Department is investing in a new fusion center in San Salvador, to gather foreign gang intelligence which it uses to deny asylum seekers at the border. Melissa del Bosque reports. (ProPublica)
• Headlines from the border in recent months have focused on a surge of Central American families fleeing violence and poverty. But reporting along the roughly 400 miles of the Rio Grande, FPI Fellow Molly O’Toole and Carolyn Cole found a more complex picture of people seeking shelter in the US — and the sometimes perverse incentives that encourage them to cross illegally. (LA Times)
• It is in the interests of the US to help Mexico respond to three key crises: increased migration, rising crime, and low energy supplies, writes Shannon O’Neil. (Bloomberg)

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