Trump's New Ally in Mexico

“Mr. López Obrador’s administration, which came into office saying it would not cooperate with Mr. Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, has gone along with it on several fronts, including accepting women and children despite earlier promises to take only adult male asylum seekers." This article explores the ways in which the Mexican president, called "AMLO" for his initials, is collaborating with and furthering the reach of Trump's policies on migrants.

Welcome to the Border, Mr. President

Sr. Norma Pimentel, a sister of the Missionaries of Jesus and executive director of Catholic Charities for the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV), wrote this open letter to Trump ahead of his visit to the border. 

Challenged About the Wall

In this fascinating and easy-to-absorb piece, the author recounts being challenged by a Trump supporter to make a solid case against building a border wall. Her response is a practical, eleven point list of reasons that the wall is impractical, ineffective, and full of damaging consequences. What makes her list unique, however, is that she drew these conclusions from analyzing all conservative or right-wing data! Because she spoke with the language of her challenger, her points were impossible to refute. For those of us who struggle to know how to converse with someone whose priorities seem so different from ours, this article gives helpful language to begin conversations!

Stop Saying ‘Migrant Caravan’

This easy-to-read piece explains the importance of language regarding the Central American exodus happening right now, and encourages us to more properly name it a refugee crisis. "There is no migrant crisis," she writes, "There is, however, a refugee crisis. That crisis is the effect of at least a half-century (and, arguably, twice that) of calamitous US political intervention in Central America."

Trump and the Reality at the Border

(From the Center for Migration Studies) In this op-ed, Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), writes that President Trump uses “grotesque and inhumane rhetoric” to make the public think that the individuals and families fleeing horrific violence and poverty in Central America are criminals and terrorists coming to harm Americans. In regards to the migrant caravan, President Trump’s “blatant effort to stoke more xenophobia and fear” ignores the fact that the caravan is “mostly ordinary men, women and children — part of a long tradition of families coming to the United States to make their lives better.” Furthermore, Trump’s characterization of the situation at the US-Mexico border is misleading. Although arrests along the border have increased since Trump took office, they are “well below the historic peaks of two decades ago.” 

The Refugee Caravan

In this piece by the New Yorker's Jonathan Blitzer, the root causes and emergence of the refugee crisis in Central America which led to this most recent exodus is explored in an easy-to-understand, relatable manner. Blitzer humanizes the refugees and helps readers understand what the decision to flee was like for many of those traveling with the caravan.