Photo of drowned migrants triggers fight over Trump asylum clampdown

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Photo of drowned migrants triggers fight over Trump asylum clampdown

 

The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter Valeria are seen after they drowned in the Rio Bravo river while trying to reach the United States, in Matamoros, in Tamaulipas state, Mexico June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

 

MATAMOROS, Mexico (Reuters) - A harrowing photo of a Salvadoran migrant and his young daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border became the focus on Wednesday of a U.S. political debate over President Donald Trump’s asylum policies.

 

The picture of Oscar Alberto Martinez, 25, and his 24-month-old daughter Angie Valeria put a renewed focus on the plight of refugees and migrants who are mostly from Central America. The pair had traveled from El Salvador and were seeking asylum in the United States.

 

U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called the image “horrific” and said the president’s migration clampdown made deaths more likely.

 

“Trump’s policy of making it harder and harder to seek asylum - and separating families who do - is cruel, inhumane and leads to tragedies like this,” he wrote on Twitter.

 

In turn, Trump blamed the Democrats, whom he said were blocking his government’s attempts at closing “loopholes” in U.S. law that encourage migrants to apply for U.S. asylum.

 

“If they fixed the laws you wouldn’t have that. People are coming up, they’re running through the Rio Grande,” he said, referring to the river known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico that forms a large part of the border between the two countries.

“They can change it very easily so people don’t come up, and people won’t get killed,” Trump told reporters.

 

Record numbers of Central American migrants are reaching the United States this year despite a crackdown by Trump. Many flee their homes in Central America to escape poverty, drought and high levels of criminal violence, much of it carried out by street gangs.

 

U.S. border patrol agents have apprehended 664,000 people along the southern border so far this year, a 144 percent increase from last year, said Brian Hastings, chief of law enforcement operations for the U.S. Border Patrol. “The system is overwhelmed,” he said.

 

 

To manage asylum flows, the United States has in recent years implemented a system known as “metering” which puts daily limits on the number of asylum seekers processed at ports of entry, leading to weeks-long waiting lists in dangerous border towns.

 

The controls have contributed to growing numbers of migrants crossing the border illegally to hand themselves in to authorities and ask for asylum. Migrant rights activists say such limits on people’s access to asylum can put them in harm’s way, while driving migration underground and squeezing it into new routes.

 

Enrique Maciel, director of the migrant agency of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, said the Martinez family had decided to cross the river after being told they needed to register for a waiting list to apply for asylum at the Matamoros-Brownsville port of entry.

 

Martinez’ mother on Wednesday told Reuters she had urged her son not to leave, fearing danger would meet him on the long journey north.

 

The photo of Martinez and his toddler daughter — face down in the mud on the river bank, with her arm draped around his neck — has gone viral on social media around the world.

 

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, put the picture on its front page and Pope Francis expressed “immense sadness.”

 

“The pope is profoundly saddened by their death, and is praying for them and for all migrants who have lost their lives while seeking to flee war and misery,” Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said.

 

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The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR compared the photograph to the picture of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi who drowned in the Mediterranean and whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015.

 

Kurdi was part of a Syrian refugee wave that caused panic in Europe, prompting Turkey to effectively shut down the migrant route through Greece at the European Union’s behest.

 

As with the photograph of Kurdi, the image of the drowned father and daughter has triggered debate over the ethics of publishing such shocking photographs, with some commentators arguing that Western media was less likely to publish similar images of European or U.S. citizens.

 

Robin Reineke, co-founder and director of the Tucson, Arizona-based Colibri Center for Human Rights said the use of such pictures did little or nothing to halt the deaths occurring daily on the border.

 

Others said the use of the picture of Martinez and his daughter was justified because it made people face up to migrant deaths on the U.S. southern border.

 

“This is very sad, but it’s really necessary,” said Rafael Larraenza, founder and director of San Diego, California-based volunteer group Angeles del Desierto (The Desert Angels), which carries out search and rescue operations for missing migrants.

 

“This happens every day along the border from California to Texas, at least one or two people a day,” Larraenza said.

 

U.S. Border Patrol reported 283 migrant fatalities on the border in 2018. Activists say the number is higher as the remains of many migrants are never found and the data does not include all deaths registered by local authorities.

 

Many countries have erected barriers to migrants, and the European Union and the United States have pressured their neighbors to cut the numbers of people trying to make the journey.

 

Trump threatened Mexico with trade tariffs until it agreed to help lower the number of mostly Central American migrants reaching the United States, using increased enforcement along with and expanded program of asylum containment.

 

With more immigrants reaching the U.S.-Mexican border than at any time in the past decade, authorities in both countries have struggled to provide adequate care in detention, with immigration lawyers citing children being held for weeks without adequate food or hygiene in U.S. border facilities.

 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said on Tuesday its acting commissioner was resigning.

 

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a $4.6 billion bill to address the migrant surge at the border with Mexico, setting up a negotiation with the House of Representatives and President Donald Trump over the funds and how they should be spent.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Martinez and his daughter had lost their lives because they could not get the protection they were entitled to under international law.

 

“The deaths of Oscar and Valeria represent a failure to address the violence and desperation pushing people to take journeys of danger for the prospect of a life in safety and dignity,” he said in the statement.

 

Additional reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico, Tom Miles in Geneva, Philip Pullella in the Vatican and Steve Holland in Washington; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Alistair Bell and Sandra Maler

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-27

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[Somtamnication]

Trump didn't drown them, but his policies are Dickensian and abhorrent.

Sadly, his 30% base opened bottles of Champagne over this. Bizarre world we live in.

[Ozman52]

The way to prevent illegal immigrant deaths is to stop encouraging them to try their luck. If you remove the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they will stop chasing it.

 

The whole concept of refugees being entitled to asylum was fine while there was only limited numbers. With modern communications the word is out, and everybody that thinks the grass is greener is heading for the points of least resistance.

[Scott]

Post blaming the victim has been removed.   Victim blaming will earn a suspension.   Two people have died.  

 

[attrayant]

9 minutes ago, Ozman52 said:

The way to prevent illegal immigrant deaths is to stop encouraging them to try their luck. If you remove the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they will stop chasing it.

 

 

In other words, make the USA look as terrible as the hell holes the asylum seekers are trying to escape from?

[Scott]

A happier picture:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-father-and-daughter-who-drowned-at-the-border-dove-into-the-river-in-desperation/ar-AADsvHZ?ocid=ob-fb-enus-280&fbclid=IwAR10fl3xvXblb_8t0NXx2gZ7vK5soWleRMHjVmOC_quKx9L4XXpENtnj21k#image=AADsvHZ_1|3

[attrayant]

*removed post edited out*

Another Trump lie.

 

 

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  

[ezzra]

And where are the governments of south america and mexico in all of this? the countries that either turned a blind eye or have encouraged hundred of thousands of people to commit an offence by illegally entering into the US DESPITE repeated warning and advisory cautions from the US border control,

Trump is as much responsible for the unfortunate death of the man and his daughter as the education minister responsible for a student flunking his/her eximes...

[stevenl]

23 minutes ago, ezzra said:

And where are the governments of south america and mexico in all of this? the countries that either turned a blind eye or have encouraged hundred of thousands of people to commit an offence by illegally entering into the US DESPITE repeated warning and advisory cautions from the US border control,

Trump is as much responsible for the unfortunate death of the man and his daughter as the education minister responsible for a student flunking his/her eximes...

Trump's policies greatly increased illegal immigration.

[chilli42]

All I can say is that it’s heartbreaking to see what is going on and the deaths of these two young people.  The only way this is going to stop is for Mexico to step up their border security with Central America ... which they appear to be doing.  There is a need to engage the government of the originating countries to begin work to make these countries a better place than they are today.  The USA is not the land of milk and honey that it once was.  It’s just that conditions in these countries are so unlivable that anything is better than what they have.

[Emdog]

The way to cut back on illegals that is humane is to help those places immigrants come from. There is long history of oppression, and the USA was a large part of that (not all, but major contributor). Seems it would be in US self interest to return some sense of order and hope to those countries. Sadly, Trump announced cutting aid to the very places that need it most.

[sammieuk1]

Appears Trump managed to kill something this week after all ????RIP

[attrayant]

48 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

The only way this is going to stop is for Mexico to step up their border security with Central America

 

Why should it fall upon Mexico to protect the borders of another country?

[CaptRon2]

2 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Trump didn't drown them, but his policies are Dickensian and abhorrent.

Sadly, his 30% base opened bottles of Champagne over this. Bizarre world we live in.

You are correct it is a bizarre world and the moronic statement statement made in your post is a good indication you are a major part of the problem. 

Please provide some factual evidence indicating any percentage of President Trump’s base opening champagne (I have to assume from your hateful tone, you are implying celebrating)

Congratulations on making the most moronic post I have ever read in Thai Visa Your post is absolutely pathetic, untrue total trash and I for one will judge the credibility of every future post submitted by you, using this trash as a guide   That is a true representation of who/what you are! 

[Chomper Higgot]

The photo strips bare the demonization of immigrants that this President has lead and his base have followed.

 

RIP, a father and his daughter dead seeking the American Dream.

 

Decent Americans will ask what have we become?

[AgMech Cowboy]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

Trump's policies greatly increased illegal immigration.

How do you come up with that?

[AgMech Cowboy]

18 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The photo strips bare the demonization of immigrants that this President has lead and his base have followed.

 

RIP, a father and his daughter dead seeking the American Dream.

 

Decent Americans will ask what have we become?

I am sad for them. RIP

But that does not diminish the fact they were not traveling with legal documents. You're an international traveller and you don't see the sense in obtaining permission to enter/exit from country to country?

[phantomfiddler]

1 hour ago, attrayant said:

 

Why should it fall upon Mexico to protect the borders of another country?

Geography !

[stevenl]

6 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

How do you come up with that?

He cut subsidies to solve the problems at the source, and has greatly increased hurdles for legal immigration, thereby making months long waits customary, leading to much more illegal immigration.

[Chomper Higgot]

Just now, AgMech Cowboy said:

I am sad for them. RIP

But that does not diminish the fact they were not traveling with legal documents. You're an international traveller and you don't see the sense in obtaining permission to enter/exit from country to country?

Tell me, which US law hands out the death penalty for being an undocumented immigrant?

 

You might find such a law in some totalitarian state, but you’ll not find it in the US, a nation of immigrants.

[jany123]

2 hours ago, chilli42 said:

All I can say is that it’s heartbreaking to see what is going on and the deaths of these two young people.  The only way this is going to stop is for Mexico to step up their border security with Central America ... which they appear to be doing.  There is a need to engage the government of the originating countries to begin work to make these countries a better place than they are today.  The USA is not the land of milk and honey that it once was.  It’s just that conditions in these countries are so unlivable that anything is better than what they have.

The US already stole their milk and honey, and now they won’t give it back.... and worse... you intimate that the US might have given their milk and honey to others.... those Americans of darker decent are truly screwed.

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, CaptRon2 said:

You are correct it is a bizarre world and the moronic statement statement made in your post is a good indication you are a major part of the problem. 

Please provide some factual evidence indicating any percentage of President Trump’s base opening champagne (I have to assume from your hateful tone, you are implying celebrating)

Congratulations on making the most moronic post I have ever read in Thai Visa Your post is absolutely pathetic, untrue total trash and I for one will judge the credibility of every future post submitted by you, using this trash as a guide   That is a true representation of who/what you are! 

Yeah the champagne thing is over the top, but if people support "trump" and his policies of METERING asylum applications which is the sick policy that led to those tragic deaths, then sorry Charlie, they are indeed part of the problem. 

[jany123]

43 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The photo strips bare the demonization of immigrants that this President has lead and his base have followed.

 

RIP, a father and his daughter dead seeking the American Dream.

 

Decent Americans will ask what have we become?

I wonder what answers “decent Americans” will come up with, because I’m pretty sure that decent and compassionate people the world over, will be asking a similar question of Americans.

[Chomper Higgot]

5 minutes ago, jany123 said:

I wonder what answers “decent Americans” will come up with, because I’m pretty sure that decent and compassionate people the world over, will be asking a similar question of Americans.

The lid is coming off the obscenity that is Trump’s immigration and internment policies, when it does it’s going to wake up decency in America.

[attrayant]

39 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

Geography !

 

Wait - that's the reason Mexico is going to pay for the wall!  Can we just use that whenever we want?

 

 

 

 

[Joinaman]

Here's a simple reply to all those who blame the immigration laws for causing the deaths of these illegal immigrants

Do away with the border controls, give free passage to any person wishing to enter the USA, 

Triple the taxes to pay for the additional housing, infrastructure, social welfare, etc

Sounds good ?

Is it wrong now to expect people to obey the laws of the country they are trying to enter ?

If they choose not to obey the laws, then lose their lives trying to enter illegals, instead of applying and waiting like honest people, why is that the fault of the country they are trying to enter?

If someone dies trying to swim across the Mekong River to avoid Thai immigration and enter illegally , would you still say this is the fault of Thailand ?

[Chomper Higgot]

12 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

Here's a simple reply to all those who blame the immigration laws for causing the deaths of these illegal immigrants

Do away with the border controls, give free passage to any person wishing to enter the USA, 

Triple the taxes to pay for the additional housing, infrastructure, social welfare, etc

Sounds good ?

Is it wrong now to expect people to obey the laws of the country they are trying to enter ?

If they choose not to obey the laws, then lose their lives trying to enter illegals, instead of applying and waiting like honest people, why is that the fault of the country they are trying to enter?

If someone dies trying to swim across the Mekong River to avoid Thai immigration and enter illegally , would you still say this is the fault of Thailand ?

Is that you trying to hyperbole your way out of facing the reality of this tragedy?

 

 

[lannarebirth]

2 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Appears Trump managed to kill something this week after all ????RIP

How so? I've watched people crossing that river into the US for the past 50 years. What's Trump got to do with it? 

[Tug]

A sad end to a young family to solve or at least ease this fiasco at our border will that leadership and compermise to things Donald doesent posess we will have to wait till after 2020 before any real progress will be made rip young family