U.S. Lawmakers Probe Root Causes of Border Crisis
U.S. Lawmakers Probe Root Causes of Border Crisis
Testifying before the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Senate Committee, COA’s Eric Farnsworth explains the root causes and suggests solutions for the child migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
CAPITOL HILL —The mass arrival of undocumented children to the U.S. southern border will not end so long as Central America remains a cauldron of violence, poverty, and desperation: that is the message U.S. lawmakers heard from a panel of experts who testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Central American parents who send their children on a perilous journey may incorrectly believe that minors have an automatic right to remain in the United States under current law and Obama administration policy, but that false impression is not the primary driver of mass-migration, according to Eric Olson of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Latin American Program....
A dearth of economic prospects in Central America must also be addressed, according to Eric Farnsworth of the Council of the Americas.
“One critical component of a solution, I believe, is the creation of realistic prospects for economic gain within migrant-sending nations. In other words, good, legal, sustainable jobs offering the prospects for a better life and stability at the local and community level," said Farnsworth.
While not dismissing desperate conditions in much of Central America, the committee’s top Republican, Senator Tom Coburn, said U.S. policies have helped draw child migrants to the border....
