Statement: IMA on the violence vs Central American migrants at the US-Mexico border

Address the root cause of the exodus:End the violence against Central American migrantsStatement of the International Migrants Alliance on the escalating violenceagainst the Central American migrants at the US-Mexico borderTrump is the stone-cold criminal, not the migrants.This is the statement of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) as it condemns in the strongest terms possible the heightening brutality that the US government is inflicting on the 5,000-strong migrants seeking asylum to the US.On Sunday, November 25, US border police hurled tear gas and used pepper spray on the Central American migrants after a few of the latter attempted to break through the fence by the US-Mexico border. To make matters worse, US president Donald Trump tweeted on Monday, November 26, that the migrants should be deported by the Mexican government as the latter are “stone-cold criminals” and will not be allowed entry into US soil.This statement reeks of white supremacist chauvinism and a sheer hatred against migrants. His statements only fuels and instigates more rabid slurs and attacks of his military and radical Trumpists not only on the migrants by the US-Mexico border but also those already living in the US.Many of the migrants seeking asylum are women and children hailing from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. They have been forced to flee their countries plagued with violence and abject poverty caused and further intensified by neoliberal policies imposed on them by the US government among others. Funds have flowed into Central America but not to address people’s impoverishment and unemployment but to ensure foreign investments and imperialist control over natural resources. The military in these countries have become the imperialists’ protector and private army.What is purported by mainstream media as the migrant caravan is not a caravan. It is the Central American migrant exodus, the direct result of the failure of neoliberal globalization. It is a manifestation not only of the people’s will to survive but their defiance to imperialist imposition and control.Neoliberal globalization is the failed policy of US imperialism in addressing the crisis of the world capitalist system. What it has caused instead is the further depression of economies, especially in underdeveloped countries that have resulted in forced migration.Trump and his ilk are the worst criminals as they continue to gloat on their fascism while justifying the mounting crimes they are committing against the Central American migrants. As some migrants have decided to go back home, many remain vigilant and will stand their ground at the US-Mexico border until the US government’s knees wane, listen and act on the migrants’ demands.The IMA calls for the immediate halt to the hostilities and violence at the border. Instead of leading the hate, Trump and his administration should look at and treat the migrants as people with rights. Instead of tear gas and pepper spray, they should follow the lead of the communities in Tijuana and many Mexican cities that have, without condition, provided the latter’s urgent need for food, water, clothing and medicine. Instead of closing them down, they should break all barriers, both physical and virtual, and tackle the root cause of the exodus.We join the American people and the international community who have expressed solidarity with the Central American migrants and continue to pour support for their cause. Our member organizations and friends in the US have taken the lead in mobilizing support and providing assistance to the migrants at the US-Mexico border. We encourage everyone there and everywhere to do the same.The reality of forced migration and displacement is real for the Central American migrants. The US government should accept responsibility for this and correct such errors immediately.