LatinaLista — Ever since President Obama finally recognized the influx of Central American children at the U.S.-Mexico border as a “humanitarian crisis,” partisan blame has been thickly spread. From faulting current U.S. policy and criticizing border enforcement to calling out the governments of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, blame has replaced any effort in finding a solution to an international crisis straining some border communities’ resources and the patience of GOP hardliners and anti-immigration activists.
Though recent reports detect a slow-down of children appearing at the border, fears still exist that a new wave could be on the horizon if cartel and gang violence escalate any further in frightening children enough to leave their homes and make the trek towards “el norte.”
To combat the social forces driving the children out of their home communities, the United States government announced a series of U.S.-funded programs in each of the countries but it’s recognized that more needs to be done.
While Republicans are content to blame the Democrats for the immigration issue, a recent visit by all three presidents of the main countries where the children are immigrating from make clear that it’s the United States, as a whole, who bears responsibility for what is not only happening with the children but with the violence and lawlessness driving this mass migration.
At a panel discussion hosted by the think tank on global issues, the Wilson Center, in Washington DC, the foreign ministers of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador shared their perspectives of the crisis and what it will take to solve it.
