Los Angeles Times: Is the US Facing a Border Crisis?

A caravan of migrants originating in Honduras is headed to the United States. Now in Mexico, the migrants number more than 7,000, picking up more people along the way as group travel provides security and draws attention to fears about political instability and gang violence at home. The US president has threatened to use the military to forcibly stop the migrants from approaching the border to request asylum, which requires demonstrating a fear of persecution based on religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most requests are denied with many migrants lingering in camps near the southern border. Illegal immigration for the US has declined since the year 2000 and is at historic lows, reports Cindy Carcamo for the Los Angeles Times. Illegal immigration from Mexico has been falling while numbers are increasing Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador – despite the Trump administration’s harsh stance and the possibility of family separations. Carcamo suggests that long-term fixes, including support for education and family planning which increase economic opportunity, reduce migration pressures. – YaleGlobal