Every two or three years, a crisis seems to develop at the US southern border. This March, the number of people trying to cross the border skyrocketed again, with a surge in unaccompanied children. Experts claim the situation at the US-Mexico border can’t be solved without acknowledging its origins. So what are the humanitarian and political drivers of this issue? What are some of the root causes at home influencing the daunting decision to start a new life across the border?
The institute hosted a discussion of the state of migration in partnership with Network 20/20 on May 20, 2020. Former ICWA fellow Amelia Frank-Vitale (Mexico, 2012-2014), an anthropologist of migration in Central America and Mexico, spoke with Pamela Lopez, a Mexican lawyer specializing in international refugee law, and Jenifer Avila, journalist and founding editor-in-chief of Contra Corriente.
Photo: Paso del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas, Feb. 26, 2021 (CBP Photography, Wikimedia Commons)
