On Friday, 16 October 2015, I presented “No Childhood Here: Why Salvadoran Children are Fleeing Their Homes,” as part of Stanford University’s Center for Latin American Studies Lecture Series. To learn more about CLAS, click here: https://las.stanford.edu.

To read the entire article, “4,600 Central American Kids Have Applied for Refugee Status. 11 Have Gotten It. Here’s Why,” by Ian Gordon of Mother Jones, click the link: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/central-american-child-migrants-refugee-program-update.

“And according to an upcoming report by social scientist Elizabeth Kennedy, 83 people deported by the United States in the past 21 months have been killed upon their return to El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.”

To read the entire article, “The migrants who fled violence for the US only to be sent back to their deaths,” click this link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/12/deportation-migrants-flee-honduras-guatemala-salvador.

“No one keeps an official record of how many returnees have been murdered in Honduras. But a review of news reports of killings in the country compiled by researcher Elizabeth Kennedy at theSan Diego State University shows that at least 35 people who were deported from the United States between January 2014 and July 2015 were murdered within months – or even days – of their arrival in Honduras.”

To read the entire story, “US government deporting Central American migrants to their deaths,”click the link: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/12/obama-immigration-deportations-central-america.

“Immigration experts believe that the Guardian’s findings represent just the tip of the iceberg. A forthcoming academic study based on local newspaper reports has identified as many as 83 US deportees who have been murdered on their return to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras since January 2014.

…

Human rights experts warn that in its haste to expel or deter undocumented immigrants, the US government is scrimping on its obligation to provide asylum to those genuinely in peril in violation of international law.

…

The collateral damage of America’s increasingly unforgiving deportation process is that people are being returned to extremely dangerous situations in Central America, which has some of the highest murder rates in the world.

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Elizabeth Kennedy, a social scientist at San Diego state university, has compiled a comprehensive estimate of US deportees who have been murdered on their return to Central America since January 2014 based on local newspaper reports. Her forthcoming research identified 45 such cases in El Salvador, three in Guatemala and 35 in Honduras.

“These figures tell us that the US is returning people to their deaths in violation of national and international law. Most of the individuals reported to have been murdered lived in some of the most violent towns in some of the most violent countries in the world – suggesting strongly that is why they fled,” Kennedy said.”

To read the entire article, “The Refugees at Our Door” by Enrique’s Journey author, Sonia Nazario, and see the great photos that accompany it in the New York Times on 10 October, click this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/the-refugees-at-our-door.html?ref=opinion&_r=1.

“No one systematically tracks how many deportees end up dead when they are returned to their homes, but the social scientist Elizabeth G. Kennedy in a forthcoming report documents, from news reports, that at least 90 migrants deported by the United States and Mexico in the past 21 months were murdered. The true number, she notes, is most likely much higher.”

Economist, Dr. Catlina Amuedo-Dorantes (http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~camuedod/) and I provided coffee and context to the 20:00 performance of My Mañana Comes (http://www.sdrep.org/showinfo.php?showid=224) on Saturday, 10 October at the San Diego Repertory Theater. We really enjoyed the conversation with those who decided to come early and the show. It’s an excellent performance that touches upon family, sacrifice, immigration, a fair working wage and so much more.

To read the entire article, “Menaced by gangs, El Salvador’s children are running for their lives,” here is the link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/menaced-by-gangs-el-salvadors-children-are-running-for-their-lives/article26151568/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links.

‘At that point, much in his fate would depend on whether the family could take on even more debt to get a lawyer: Non-citizens have no right to state-provided counsel in the United States. Elizabeth Kennedy, a Fulbright scholar who studies the issue of child migrants from Central America, describes cases of unilingual Spanish-speaking six-year-olds “representing” themselves in court cases. A Syracuse University monitoring project found that 47 per cent of children with counsel are able to stay in the U.S. – but 90 per cent of those with no lawyer are forced to leave.

…

No one tracks the well-being of the children who reach the U.S., and no one monitors what happens to the ones who are brought back into El Salvador. “No one follows up with these kids – because they don’t want to know,” Ms. Kennedy says.

Anecdotally, she tries to follow some of the hundreds of children she has interviewed. “There are deportees who’ve been sent back and been murdered within hours or within days. And no one is tracking those.”

In June, 2014, the Obama administration requested $3.7-billion (U.S.) in new spending on immigration to address the surge, but Congress has yet to release much of it; most of what has been spent has gone into enforcement measures. There have been no significant policy changes that reflect the dramatic shift in push factors. Yet, deportation is no longer a deterrent. “It’s not uncommon for the deported to turn around and leave again the same day,” says Ms. Kennedy. “You can’t stay.”’

Para leer el reportaje completo, “Organizaciones aplauden fallo que ordena liberacion de ninos y mujeres migrantes,” aqui es el link: http://noticias.univision.com/article/2439481/2015-08-22/inmigracion/noticias/organizaciones-aplauden-fallo-que-ordena-liberacion-de-ninos-y-mujeres-migrantes.

Para leer el reportaje completo, “Disminuye la llegada de menores a EE.UU. por la presion de las autoridades mexicanas” por EFE en Fox News Latino, haga click en ese link: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/espanol/2015/07/08/disminuye-la-llegada-de-menores-eeuu-por-la-presion-de-las-autoridades/, o “Disminuye a la mitad entrada de ninos migrantes a EU” con El Siete haga click en ese link: http://www.sie7edechiapas.com/#!Disminuye-a-la-mitad-entrada-de-niños-migrantes-a-EU/cjds/559e057c0cf2ae09c19cc9c5.

“Al referirse a una investigación que realizó recientemente en El Salvador, Karla Castillo, una experta salvadoreña en migración forzada, señaló que al entrevistar a más de 300 menores repatriados en un centro de retorno en El Salvador, la mayoría afirmó que salió del país por la violencia.

El 58 por ciento dijo que salió del país a causa de la violencia y las extorsiones y las presiones de las pandillas”, informó Castillo.

La investigadora destacó que a pesar de que la gran mayoría de los jóvenes que fueron devueltos a El Salvador tiene familiares en los Estados Unidos, sólo el 35 por ciento dijo que salió de su país de origen buscando una reunificación familiar.

El factor de violencia es muy importante y está expulsando a muchos niños y adolescentes de sus países”, aseguró Castillo.

Igualmente el número de menores que regresa a El Salvador luego de un intento frustrado de entrar a los Estados Unidos ha aumentado considerablemente.

Según la analista, cuando el año pasado se recibían en los centros de retorno de menores entre 10 y 15 niños diarios, ahora el número de retorno diario “se disparó y es de 60 a 70 niños en total”.

Castillo explicó que, como consecuencia de los problemas de seguridad y también del factor económico, se están produciendo movimientos de personas desplazadas internamente en El Salvador.

Según informó, un reporte del Consejo para Refugiados señaló que en mayo había en ese país centroamericano 260 mil desplazados internos.

Igualmente, especialmente los jóvenes, están buscando cruzar la frontera sur hacia países como Costa Rica y Panamá.

Por su parte, la situación de los menores y las familias detenidas en los Estados Unidos no es la mejor, pues enfrentan problemas jurídicos económicos y emocionales.”

Para leer todo el reportaje, “EU no ha frenado exodo de migrantes: activistas,” por Carmen Alvarez del Excelsior, haga click en ese link: http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2015/07/11/1034095.

‘“Hay que atender los problemas de raíz que causan la migración, la pobreza y la violencia. La respuesta no es solamente militarizar la frontera sino atacar las consecuencias y raíces del problema, promover un desarrollo económico y social de aquellos países”, dijo Karla Castillo de NALACC durante el seminario para analizar el Éxodo de Niños que huyen de la violencia y la pobreza.’