The challenge of the Latin American consuls in the face of a growing flow of migrants to the US

The arrival of thousands of immigrants who arrive irregularly in the United States presents challenges for the consular offices of the countries with the highest volume of emigration to the United States.

Shortly after the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that it has broken new records in immigration detentions, especially at the border crossing with Mexico, consuls from that country, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay exposed the challenges they are facing from their positions in this context.

The officials presented opinions at an event organized by the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO), held this Thursday in Arlington, Virginia, adjacent to Washington, DC

The consul general of Guatemala, Jessica Mendoza, said that it is clear that the migration of citizens from her country is on the rise, as evidenced by the increase in assistance to Guatemalans in the network of 23 consulates in the United States.

Requests for assistance range from calls from relatives to locate people detained by the Immigration and Border Protection Service (ICE), to search for detained people, and in more tragic cases, to help with repatriation processes.

“We have definitely seen an increase in the demand for services in the consulates, it is a fairly high growth that we have from Guatemalans and we continue to reinforce the facilities and personnel for the care of these Guatemalans who are requiring these services,” Mendoza told the Voice of America.

The official emphasized that the challenge is to make irregular migrants from her country “know that they have the right to request the United States immigration authorities when they are detained, to notify the consulate to which they belong.”

With this, he says, the possibility of providing assistance and having data on the detained person, who has sometimes lost contact with their relatives, opens up.

The head of the Consular Mission of the Mexican embassy in Washington, Rafael Laveaga Rendón, commented that the migration problem calls for the officials of all the countries involved to establish communication links to address it.

Meetings like this are an opportunity “to pause to build bridges now that they are most needed,” he said.

“There are so many gaps, so many barriers and so many walls and without a doubt we have to be united in the face of the criminalization” of migration, added Laveaga Rendón.

Community activist Edgar Aranda, a member of the organizing team for the meeting of consuls, comments to the VOA that the messages from the United States that seek to denounce irregular migration have pushed to increase the phenomenon.

The voices from the Republican Party repeat over and over again “that the border is open”, creates a wave of disinformation and in many Latin American countries “they believe it is true, when it is not true”, and many decide to take the route, explained .

“It is dangerous and many people are being detained and even in the United States Title 42 continues to be applied, that a person can be returned to their country or taken out if they are trying to enter, so it is not how they are putting it some politicians,” he added.

In the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022, which ends on September 30, US immigration authorities reported that they have detained nearly 2.5 million irregular migrants on the southern border. More than 20% of those detained in August are migrants who have already been expelled and who intend to enter the United States again.

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