Crisis at the US Southern Border: Migrants, Mothers & Medical Care

April 12, 2021 – The date has changed, but the migration situation continues from Trump, to the Biden administration. Once again, the US Southern Border is deluged with migrants from nations referred to as the “Northern Triangle Countries of Central America” – namely, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. To make matters worse, in 2020, the Council on Foreign Relations reported that 34 million Latin Americans lost their jobs. Yet, according to the Council, the US has been “managing the crisis” on its southern border for decades. In fact, the Council reports that “every single year from 1973 to 2009, there were more than 500,000 migrants apprehended” – at the US southern border. What the Council purports, is over the past decade, there have been historic lows in the number of undocumented migrants seeking to gain access to the United States. However, that number has ticking towards the 500,000 of years past – with a surge in early 2021, of 172,000 migrants in March, nearly 100,000 in February, 78,000 in January.

Migrants Going the Distance – Facts on the Ground

What is now the norm at the border – unaccompanied children arriving alone, and women and their small babies – all sent or fleeing poverty, violence and natural disasters – desperately searching for a better life or to safeguard the one they have. Many of the migrants have made the grueling journey over thousands of miles of rough terrain to the US Southern border – many on foot, others with the help of smugglers.

Yet, most Americans have no concept of the distance nor the rugged terrain – from the Central America countries to one of the nearest ports of entry in Brownsville, Texas. Nor that the Brownsville station is approximately 1,795 miles from Nicaragua, approximately 1,570 miles Honduras, and approximately 1.300 miles Guatemala. Others battle the swift-moving currents of the Rio Grande river with the hope of safely crossing into the US to be apprehended by US Border Patrol.

The Trek of a Lifetime

For those making their way on foot, by caravan – or attempting to cross the Rio Grande – the desperation to carry out this feat is clearly visible.

According to verifiable reports, as far back as 2016, there are ever-increasing reasons why migrants were fleeing Central America. From famine, avoiding recruitment into gangs and fleeing abduction by sex-traffickers – to the destruction of crops from climate disasters – people of the Northern Triangle are desperate. They flee not just to find a better life – but to preserve it. Yet, the paradox: while so many migrants are fleeing their native countries to be free of traffickers to protect their lives – they are actually relying on traffickers to get them into the US. This vicious cycle of victimization and profiteering is one that the Biden administration appears to be taking seriously.

What About the Treatment of Migrant Women and Girls ….?

From the harsh treatment of migrant women and girls under the Trump administration to the softer stance by the Biden administration – there is no easy answer to subduing the influx of migrants. But Biden is trying to make a difference by using funds in the home countries of migrants to stem the tide – but making the corrupt governments accountable – something the Trump administration repeatedly failed to do. New strategies to deter immigrants from leaving their homeland include cash payments to NGO’s in the Central American triangle region to get aid money in the hands of those in need, and not the hands of corrupt government officials like those who repeated visited Trump in the White House – yet, our own president looked the other way.

What Type of Medical “Care” Was Given to Migrant Women Just Last Year?

Under the Trump administration, numerous reports surfaced of sexual assaults in detention by guards and women detainees being sterilized against their will by invasive medical procedures by government doctors. Cases litigated in courts about repeated sexual assaults by workers in detention facilities. But how does the medical evaluation process work for those seeking asylum vs immigrants seeking permanent residency? The answer, is it “depends” on their “status.”

Who Performs Medical Evaluations for Immigrants, Refugees and Migrants?

According to the CDC, status determines who does the medical examination. Yet, whether the “status” is – immigrant seeking permanent residency, asylum seeker, or migrant – according to the American Medical Association informed consent is always the basis of ethical medical treatment.

Yet, we learned from numerous accounts that was not the case. To learn more about why migrant women and girls flee their homeland, and the medical treatment they received by US doctors working with detainees – notably under Trump administration, watch: Crisis at the Border: Migrants, Motherhood & Medical Care, available only on The Legal Edition.

Additional Programming on Immigration:

Parallels in Patriotism: Educating One Generation of America at a Time – History of US Immigration with Educator & Historian, Adam Strom.

The International Bill of Rights – Politics and Policies – Where Does America Stand? with Director of ACLU Human Rights Program, New York City, Attorney, Jamil Dakwar.

Programming on Trauma, Abuse & Domestic Violence:

‘The Sound of Silence: The Hidden Epidemic of Domestic Abuse & Trauma’ with Dr. Judith Herman, Psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, co-founder of Cambridge Center for Victims of Violence, and author of Trauma & Recovery and Father-Daughter Incest.

‘Conquering the Enemy, the Memory Within’ with Dr. Roger Pitman of Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital, Research & Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Abuse Survivors & Veterans of War.

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