Latin American Program Associate Director Eric L. Olson is quoted in this article about the wave of Central American migrants creating an imbalance in Border Patrols thus reducing drug busts.
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As the humanitarian crisis intensifies, U.S. officials are raising the pressure on their Mexican and Central American counterparts to halt the flow of migrants, many of whom are driven by violence, poverty and the perception that they will be allowed to stay if they reach U.S. soil. Secretary of State John F. Kerry raised the issue during a recent visit to Mexico. And Vice President Biden was headed to Guatemala on Friday to discuss a tightening of that country's border with Mexico.
"Even if the VP says, 'Don't come,' it's going to be a tough sell," said Eric Olson, associate director of the Latin American program at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. There is a sense in these countries that "this is your big chance. If you want to get into the U.S., now is the time."
But migrants can cross the Mexico-Guatemala border easily, often in plain sight of Mexican checkpoints. The boundary is in a sparsely populated region of thick jungle and mountains and is highly patrolled, without the high-tech scanners, drones or imposing walls used on the U.S. border. The Mexican government does not seem interested in or capable of investing heavily to militarize its southern border, particularly with its security forces fighting drug cartels in several parts of the country and the challenge of Central American migration largely viewed as a problem for its wealthier northern neighbor.
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The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
