Repressive migration policies imposed by the United States and Mexico are trapping many Central Americans in dangerous situations, with severe consequences for their physical and mental health.
Under the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols, asylum seekers who come to the US looking for protection are sent back to extremely dangerous parts of Mexico and elsewhere in the region. They have to wait many months before even getting a hearing.
Without safe and legal alternatives, they are at the mercy of human trafficking networks and criminal organizations. In this video, Avril Benoît, executive director of the US office of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), explains why we are calling for an end to this cruel and inhumane migration policy.
Let’s End the Migrant Protection Protocols Now
Avril Benoît, Executive Director, MSF-USA:
The U.S. is punishing people for following the rules.
Asylum seekers are coming to the United States southern border asking for protection. But the U.S. is turning them away - sending them to extremely dangerous parts of Mexico to wait months and months for a hearing.
We're calling for an end to this cruel and inhumane migration policy.
Many of these people left Central America because their lives are in danger. We know this because we’ve treated thousands of patients in El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. We’ve heard their shocking accounts of kidnapping, forced gang recruitment, extortion, rape, and murder.
The so-called Migrant Protection Protocols offer no protection at all. They send asylum seekers back into harm’s way, to the borderlands of Mexico. Or to some of the same Central American countries from which people are fleeing.
Our message is simple. Let’s treat migrants and asylum seekers like human beings first. It’s time to end MPP now.
