Last weekend, I covered the latest caravan of illegal immigrants careening toward our southern border, and on Friday, Mary blogged about President Trump considering executive action to narrow requirements for asylum-seekers.
Now we are learning that thousands of illegal immigrants currently making their way through Mexico have been offered refugee status by the Mexican government. Refugee status in Mexico would make the illegal aliens eligible for medical care, schooling, shelter, and jobs. The offer was rejected.
Hundreds of Mexican federal officers carrying plastic shields blocked a Central American caravan from advancing toward the United States on Saturday, after a group of several thousand migrants turned down the chance to apply for refugee status and obtain a Mexican offer of benefits.Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has announced what he called the “You are at home” plan, offering shelter, medical attention, schooling and jobs to Central Americans in Chiapas and Oaxaca states if migrants apply, calling it a first step toward permanent refugee status. Authorities said more than 1,700 had already applied for refugee status.. . . . The bulk of the migrants were boisterous Friday evening in their refusal to accept anything less than safe passage to the U.S. border.”Thank you!” they yelled as they voted to reject the offer in a show of hands. They then added: “No, we’re heading north!”
BBC News has further details on the array of benefits these “refugees” rejected from Mexico.
Mexico has offered temporary work permits to migrants who register for asylum, as a big caravan of Central American migrants makes its way through the country toward the US.. . . . The scheme, announced by President Enrique Peña Nieto, covers Central Americans who have officially asked for refugee status in Mexico or are planning to do so in the near future.It is called Estas en Tu Casa (“This is Your Home” in Spanish).”Today, Mexico extends you its hand,” President Peña Nieto said.But he added: “This plan is only for those who comply with Mexican laws, and it’s a first step towards a permanent solution for those who are granted refugee status in Mexico.”The plan envisages:
- Temporary ID cards and work permits
- Medical care
- Schooling for migrants’ children
- Housing in local hostels
According to the BBC report, economic migrants are not entitled to asylum.
Most migrants said they had no intention of abandoning their plans to head to the US.”The majority plan to cross the border. And that’s my intention, too,” Jose Santos, from Honduras, told the BBC.”Because, yes, while life here is calmer than at home, it’s still not like the US where it would get better. That’s the goal: to have a better life.”. . . . Many of the migrants say they plan to seek asylum in the US.There is a legal obligation under international law to hear asylum claims from migrants who have arrived in the US if they say they fear violence in their home countries.But in June, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that victims of domestic abuse and gang violence would no longer generally qualify for asylum in the US.Those seeking asylum must be fleeing due to a serious fear of persecution in their home country. Under international law, these are considered refugees.If an asylum seeker enters the US illegally, they are still entitled to have their claim heard.Economic migrants are those seeking a better quality of life – and even if they are fleeing devastating poverty, they are not considered refugees and do not have the same protections.
It will be interesting to see how or if the rejection of Mexico’s generous offer plays out in terms of those illegal aliens who do breach our border and request asylum “for a better life.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Pence announced that Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández revealed that the caravan has been organized and funded by “outside groups.”
Vice President Mike Pence descended on the southwest as part of a midterm rallying blitz, bringing with him a warning that the migrant caravan is being funded by outside, leftist groups, citing intel said to be provided by foreign partners and a phone call with a Central American leader.
“What the president of Honduras told me is that the caravan was organized by leftist organizations, political activists within Honduras, and he said it was being funded by outside groups, and even from Venezuela,” Pence told Fox News in an interview late Friday in Yuma, Arizona. “So the American people, I think, see through this – they understand this is not a spontaneous caravan of vulnerable people.”
Pence also advised that “anyone coming up in this caravan should just turn around. . . . They should go home, or they should apply for asylum in Mexico.”
Tucker Carlson had a proponent of the caravan on his show and asked why the illegal aliens are refusing asylum in Mexico and why it’s okay for illegal aliens to vote in San Francisco elections. Carlson also asked if Americans should be granted the vote in the foreign countries in which they reside. He got rambling, nonsensical answers and eventually just gave up.
Watch:
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