Trump administration ignored evidence of climate change driving migration
According to NBCNews, the Customs and Border Protection compiled a report one year ago pointing to climate change as an overwhelming factor driving migration to the U.S. from Guatemala.
The report shows crop shortages were leaving rural Guatemalans, especially in the country’s western highlands, in extreme poverty and starving. And the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, Kevin McAleenan, has publicly sounded the alarm about Guatemala’s food scarcity.
But inside the Trump White House, that message was largely ignored in both policy decisions and messaging around what should be done to stem the flow of migrants. Last October, a month after the CBP report was finalized, President Donald Trump announced he was considering suspending foreign aid to Guatemala, which included money used to mitigate the affects of climate change on small farms. In April, the administration followed through, undertaking a review of fiscal year 2017 assistance and freezing $170 million in foreign aid slated for Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Over $400 million in fiscal year 2018 foreign aid will also be reprogrammed elsewhere, including outside the Western Hemisphere.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The NBC video segment is worth a look. So is Storming the Wall (book by Todd Miller. who is speaking at University of Denver Sturm of Law this week), a National Geographic feature story, and this story initiative.
Other resources on climate change and migration, including MAPS and the Migration Data Portal.