Comprehensive Plan to Address Central American Refugee Situation with Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Recommendations
Children from El Salvador and Guatemala board a bus after being released from a family detention center in Texas on July 7, 2015. SOURCE: AP/GETTY
The Center for American Progress released today two reports that together offer short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations to address th“e Central American refugee situation.
Immigration and international policy experts worked together on these reports to lay out a comprehensive approach to the situation that would ensure that refugees fleeing violence in the Northern Triangle are treated in a fair and orderly manner and that the United States works with countries in Central America and neighbors to the north and south to help address the root causes of this humanitarian crisis.
One report lays out short-term recommendations for ensuring that all asylum seekers who reach the United States receive a full and fair shot at protection. The recommendations are structured to follow the process that children and families go through when seeking protection: arrival in the United States, custody determinations and detention, and proceedings in the immigration courts.
The accompanying report lays out a series of medium-term recommendations, with a focus on refugee processing solutions—both in the countries of origin and across the region—that would give children and families a safe place to flee in the region and be processed as refugees and for resettlement without having to make the dangerous journey to the United States. It also provides long-term recommendations aimed at tackling the root causes of violence, poverty, and insecurity plaguing the Northern Triangle countries. These focus on integrating U.S. efforts—within U.S. bureaucracy and across the Northern Triangle—as well as efforts by the United States and Central America to enhance economic development, promote the rule of law, and target illicit networks.
Read “A Short-Term Plan to Address the Central American Refugee Situation” by Philip E. Wolgin
Read “A Medium- and Long-Term Plan to Address the Central American Refugee Situation” by Dan Restrepo and Silva Mathema
KJ