The Beginning of Immigration Propaganda The United States 2016 presidential election was all the country can talk about which Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States. What was so special about this presidential election was Presidents Trump's promise to make America First. In many debates and conversations that entailed what it meant to make America First, immigration was the main topic. The talk about immigration entailed many racist remarks, calling Mexicans rapists by President Trump. The topic about immigration also inspired this talk of building a 50 foot wall along the United States South border with Mexico. With daily news reports, social media post, and radios talking about the issue of Immigration in the United States, the topic of immigrants became something that no one could run away from. Two years after President Trump’s election, the United States was still having debates and conversation about immigrants in the United States and how it was urgent for the United States to fund the Wall along the Mexican border. Things only intensified with the news that there was going to be a caravan from Latin America coming to the United States to seek asylum from violence, poverty, and political repression.
Quote of the Chapter: “"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." -President Donald Trump Discussion: Now, lead a discussion in class about how this remark must have made Mexicans, living in the United States, feel. Coursework: Now, go out and find a person with a hispanic ethnicity that has contributed to the United States. *It may be someone who you know personally, someone local, a teacher, or someone famous.
The Start of the Caravan It was on the 12th of October, 2018 in San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras when people gathered in order to start their journey to the United States. The caravan began with about 160 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The Caravan officially started the next day, October 13, 2018 with the United States being their final destination. As the Caravan marched through Honduras the amount of immigrants traveling increased and was roughly 500 immigrants. As the Caravan began their journey, there were people who stood in solidarity with them while others stood against the Caravans plans to come to the United States. An organization called “Pueblo Sin Fronteras” expressed solidarity with the Caravan, with the director, Orineo Mujico advising the Caravan to not reach the United States but advising its members to seek asylum in Mexico instead. As the Caravan began their journey, American
Vice President Mike Pence urged the presidents of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to persuade their citizens to stay home.
Taking Sides Many citizens in the United States also stood against and in solidarity with the Caravan. When asked about their feelings towards the Caravan, SG, a immigrant from Mexico who is now a citizen of the United States stated, “The Caravan aids to the rhetoric that the government is using against immigrants who are already in the United States and different groups like DACA a nd TPS.” An American woman whose grandparents are immigrants states “I support them because they’re just trying to survive. People don’t just up and leave their country because they feel like it. They leave, which puts their lives and their children’s lives at risk, because they have no other choice. If they stay, they will die some way or another. Where they're from they have no food or they are threatened by violence. I support them in their journey to America for a better life”. Vocabulary DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: DACA is an American immigration policy that allows some immigrant individuals in the United States that we're brought to the country as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit in the U.S. TPS Temporary Protected Status: T PS is a status given to people from certain countries that are affected by armed conflict or natural disaster in their own country. TPS allows the person to live and work in the United States for a limited time. Currently, people from these ten countries—Haiti, El Salvador, Syria, Nepal, Honduras, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Nicaragua; and South Sudan—have temporary protected status.
As the Caravan moved up North and entered Tecún Umán, Guatemala on October 18th, 2018, the caravan numbered around 5,000. The number of travelers decreased due to the shelters being offered in Tecún Umán to rest before crossing the Guatemala -Mexico border. On that same day, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military and close the U.S.-Mexico border to keep the caravan from entering the United States. On October 18th, 2018, Mexico flew Federal Police officers to the Guatemala–Mexico border in order to prepare for what was to come. October 19th, 2018, about 4,000 immigrants crossed, overwhelming Guatemalan police and Mexican barriers on the bridge that leads to Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, Mexico. The migrants ignored the request of Mexican officials and the ambassador to Guatemala for them to appear individually at the border for processing instead of going all together. After an hour-long standoff with police, and the hostility coming to an end, migrants formed into lines and began processing by Mexican authorities. By the mid-afternoon, migrants were allowed entry to Mexico.
The Caravan resumed its march early on 21 October from Tapachula. On 26 October, when the caravan was in the Arriaga Municipality of the state of Chiapas, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled his program entitled "Estás en tu casa" ("You are at home"). This new program would allow migrants that meet the right criteria to normalize their immigration status in Mexico. Migrants who follow Mexican laws and are granted refugee status will, according to the plan, be entitled to temporary work permits and IDs, medical attention, housing in local establishments, and schooling for children. Migrants who are granted refugee status will be settled in the states of Chiapas or Oaxaca and would have had to agree not to continue to move up north to the United States.
Go to chapter 10 on page 45 to continue… Chapter 10 speaks on the events that happened after October 26th and how the United States continued to struggle with the caravan.
Works Cited Alvarado, Isaias, and Univision. “Diario De La Caravana: El Temor a Un Nuevo Cierre Fronterizo Reduce Las Visitas a Tijuana.” Univision, 17 Oct. 2018, www.univision.com/noticias/indocumentados/diario-de-la-caravana-el-temor-a-un-nuevo-cierre-fronterizo-reduce -las-visitas-a-tijuana. Jenkins, Griff. “New Migrant Caravan Forms as Mexican Cities That Border US Keep Swelling with Asylum Seekers.” Fox News, FOX News Network, www.foxnews.com/world/new-caravan-forms-as-mexican-cities-that-border-us-keep-swelling-with-migrants. Semple, Kirk. “What Is the Migrant Caravan and Why Does Trump Care?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/world/americas/trump-migrant-caravan.html. Sieff, Kevin, and Joshua Partlow. “How the Migrant Caravan Became so Big and Why It's Continuing to Grow.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 Oct. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/how-the-migrant-caravan-became-so-big-and-why-its-continuingto-grow/2018/10/23/88abf1a6-d631-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49_story.html?utm_term=.47bd759fcf62.