Migrants in Mexico

From the Benedictine Sisters Corporate Responsibility Coalition:

"President Trump complains of the sharp rise in applications for asylum in the United States, which more than tripled in seven years to 254,000 in 2018, according to global statistics complied by the U.N. refugee agency. But asylum petitions in Mexico shot up more than 3,500 percent over the same period. They could nearly triple this year alone, to around 80,000. The surge of asylum seekers in the hemisphere stems from a cascade of crises: the implosion of Venezuela, a crackdown of dissidents by the authoritarian government of Nicaragua, and agricultural disasters and gang violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. For decades, it was Mexicans who were the ones migrating, typically to the United States. This year, Mexico could become one of the top 10 recipients of asylum applications in the world. 'It's become more and more a country of destination for Central Americans,' said William Spindler, the Latin American spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. In Panama, like Mexico, asylum applications have surged, reaching 10,778 last year -- a ninefold increase in five years, according to UNHCR. In addition, the country of 4 million is now home to more than 60,000 Venezuelans. Thousands more migrants and asylum seekers have traveled across Panama this year to reach the United States."

The United States is not the only country in this hemisphere with an influx of refugees.