CNN: State Department warns Americans about Latin America. Privately, it tells asylum officers a different story
Internal assessments say violent crime in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador compares favorably with some major U.S. cities, officials said.
- Internal State Department documents, reviewed by CNN, suggest crime rates in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Salvador compare favorably with rates of violent crime in parts of the United States, including Baltimore, Houston, and Memphis.
- The Trump administration's effort to overhaul asylum claim evaluations and limit eligibility contrasts sharply with public State Department travel warnings that caution Americans against visiting these same regions.
- In June, 94% of asylum cases were denied, up from around 50% two years ago; documents argue police in Honduras are willing and able to respond to assistance requests, with constraints comparable to the United States.
- Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, called the assessments an "oversimplification of real dangers," arguing they ignore the lack of trustworthy institutions and represent a "wholesale shift in conditions on the ground."
- USCIS personnel and immigration judges will use these guidelines to determine whether migrants can safely relocate within their home countries, directly impacting future determinations of a "well-founded fear" of persecution.
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Washington, Oct 21 (EFE).- Donald Trump's government considers that some areas of Mexico and Central America are less violent than several U.S. cities, CNN reported on Wednesday. Internal reports on Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, which are used to evaluate asylum applications, contrast with warnings that [...] The U.S. entry sees areas of Mexico and Central America safer than some of its cities, according to CNN was first published…
State Department warns Americans about Latin America. Privately, it tells asylum officers a different story
The State Department is publicly warning Americans about violent crime in parts of Latin America, but privately, it has given asylum officers new assessments arguing that conditions in some of those same countries are no more dangerous than in some US cities, according to internal documents reviewed by CNN.
Documents will probably have a direct impact on asylum applications, because these people need to prove that they cannot or do not want to return to their country of origin due to a well-founded fear of persecution.
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