Nicaragua: News & Updates

NACLA editorial committee members Jorge Cuéllar and Hilary Goodfriend recently wrapped a marathon, three-episode podcast series on Central America with The Dig, a podcast hosted by Daniel Denvir through Jacobin Radio. This sweeping conversation on the region’s history, political economy, and present conjuncture is intended to serve as an accessible yet comprehensive tool for scholars and activists, beginning with Central American state formation and the imperialist interventions of the late 19th century and concluding with reflections on the far-right demonization of migration in the United States today. 

IRTF is grateful to the 200 supporters who gathered on October 27 at Pilgrim Church in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood for IRTF’s annual Commemoration of the Martyrs. In addition to marking the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of Cleveland’s missioners in El Salvador (Jean Donovan and Sister Dorothy Kazel, alongside Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke), we commemorated 36 human rights defenders killed in Central America and Colombia this past year because they dared to speak truth to power.

Our keynote speaker, Lorena Araujo of the largest campesino organization in El Salvador (CRIPDES), held the crowd’s attention with horrific stories of mass arrests, detentions and deaths currently happening under their government’s State of Exception, now in its third year. With more 88,000 imprisoned (and more than 300 deaths in prison), El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate in the world—surpassing the astronomical rate of incarceration in the United States. 

As the people of El Salvador face the greatest challenge to their democracy since the end of the civil war in 1992, they invite us to renew and deepen our solidarity.

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Nicaragua’s government has launched a fierce crackdown on the Catholic church and other religious organizations, jailing priests and bishops, closing religious schools, and stripping charities and ministries of their legal standing.

On September 5, 135 prisoners were released in a secret operation negotiated by the Biden administration, officials announced.

The prisoners, all Nicaraguan citizens, were flown to Guatemala and will be able to apply for U.S. legal status. Descending from the plane, they cried, “God Bless America” and “God Bless Guatemala,” said Eric Jacobstein, a State Department official who greeted them.

Among the 135 freed Thursday are 13 members of the Texas-based Mountain Gateway missionary organization, as well as Catholic laypeople, students, journalists and human rights defenders, U.S. officials said. The highest-profile prisoners (from Mountain Gateway, an evangelical Christian organization based in Dripping Springs, TX) included 11 pastors who were arrested in December and later found guilty of money laundering, plus two of their lawyers. The pastors had received sentences of 12 to 15 years, and were collectively fined almost $1 billion, the organization said in a statement. It said the charges were baseless.

In this monthly newsletter, please read about : 1) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, 2) US Government Policy: Some legislators and DHS trying to do more to offer humanitarian relief to migrants, 3) Migration Impacts on Women, 4) At the Border, 5) Beyond Borders: Health and Safety in the Age of Migration in Mexico, 6) Changing Demographics: Migrants to the US Come from Different Corners of the Globe, 7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human rights abuses and the need for human pathways to safety, 8) Texas Gets Tough on Migrants, 9) Economic Benefits of Immigration – both documented and undocumented migrants, 10) Biden Can Claim Record Numbers of Removals.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Here is what you can do to take action this week and act in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)

A) Join a Solidarity Delegation to Southern Mexico:  November 11-16, 2024

B) Stop Criminalizing Migrants Traveling through the Darién Gap

C) Volunteer to Assistant Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland: Catholic Charities

D) Volunteer to Assistant Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland: NEO Friends of Immigrants

E) Get Paid to Assist Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland

F) Act Now for Welcoming, Dignified, and Just Immigration

Read the full IRTF Migrant Justice Newsletter each month at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog  

The United States has long been a destination of migrants from around the world seeking safety and new opportunities. The image of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty welcoming “the poor huddled masses” is ingrained in our collective memory and culture.

Yes, there are many coming to our southern border seeking safety. Many of those come from countries whose people have been negatively impacted by US economic and military policies. They come here because we went there.

While the US was the world’s largest recipient of new asylum applications in 2023 (1.2 million), it is desperately trying to deter migrants from seeking refuge here. On June 4, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new plans to “secure our border.” It bars migrants from even asking for asylum. The unwelcoming attitude that the US presents toward migrants is illustrated not only by Biden’s recent asylum ban and the monthly increase in US migrant detention, now standing at 38,525.

In IRTF’s July 2024 Migrant Justice newsletter, please read about (1)   Asylum Processing at the US-Mexico Border, (2) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3)  Migrants in Colombia: Between Government Absence and Criminal Control, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Honduras plans to build a 20,000-capacity ‘megaprison’ for gang members as part of a crackdown, (6) Thousands of displaced residents in southern Mexico fear returning to their homes after violence, (7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human Rights Abuses and the Need for Humane Pathways to Safety, (8) America Turned Against Migrant Detention Before. We Can Do It Again, (9)  Asylum claims are down over 40% in Mexico, and (10) UN Refugee Agency Global Trends Report 2023.

Then take a few minutes to read what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)

A) Act Now for welcoming, dignified and just immigration policies

B) Root Causes: Stop Deportation Flights to Haiti

C) Root Causes: Restore Asylum for LGBTQ+ Refugees in Danger

D) Think Globally. Act Locally: Help Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland

Read the full newsletter at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog/migrant-justice-newsletter-jul-2024

In IRTF’s June 2024 newsletter on Migrant Justice, please read about (1)  President Biden Announces New Actions to Secure the Border; Critics point to its illegality, (2)  ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3) Child Migration in Darien Gap, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Mind the Darién Gap, Migration Bottleneck of the Americas, (6)  Immigration Court: unjust denials call for structural realignment, not further restrictions, and (7) Immigration is the demographic savior too many refuse to acknowledge.

Then take a few minutes to read what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of the newsletter.)

A) Support LGBTQ+ Migrants

B) Oppose Border Closures

C) Support Migrants in Detention

D) Root Causes: Cut US Militarism in Latin America

Read the full IRTF Migrant Justice Newsletter each month at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog

Growing up queer in Nicaragua - by Julia Chinamo.

“I viscerally remember that moment in my life because it was so, so painful for me,” he shakes his head. “My dad then hit me, not with a belt, but he hit me with a hose and when the hose split open on my back, he hit me with the electrical cord from the iron…I received so many blows that my right eye swelled shut and my lip was split open and then my dad threw me out into the street with all my clothes. For me, it felt like that day was the last day of my life.”

In 2008, following the Sandinista party’s return to power, a law was passed overturning the penalization of homosexuality and making it illegal to discriminate against someone based on sexual orientation. Since then, the Sandinista government has also passed laws specifically guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, public institutions have administrative regulations in place to ensure that no one faces discrimination for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“If I compare Nicaragua with other countries in the world,” explains Julio, “we have regulations, public policy, legal framework, and laws that support us. Here you cannot violate the rights of a trans woman because she is a trans woman - you cannot deprive her of her life, her freedom. I consider that Nicaragua is an example for the whole Central American region and for all of Latin America.”

Julio is an activist, and his personal struggles and triumphs are intrinsically linked with those of his larger community and his country. 

News articles in this month’s Migrant Justice Update:

(1) See Us. Here Us. #ReuniteUS. (2) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends. (3) Migration Declining. (4)  At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border. (5) Guatemalan Youth Defy Tragedy, Continue Trek to US Despite Familial Losses.  (6) Kidnapping of Migrants and Asylum Seekers at the Texas-Tamaulipas Border Reaches Intolerable Levels.  (7) President-elect of Panama pledges to close the Darién Gap.  (8) Trans & Nonbinary Migrants File Complaint Over Treatment at ICE Detention Facility in Colorado

TAKE ACTION items:

(A) Migrant Families in Cleveland Need Household Items. (B) Root Causes: Cut US Militarism in Latin America. (C) Root Causes: Stop Deportation Flights to Haiti. (D) Root Causes: Redesignate TPS for Nicaraguans. (E) Support Migrants in Detention.

Immigration enforcement continues to be top of mind for many in the US electorate. We’re likely to see the two presidential candidates duke it out on who pledges to be tougher on immigration.

With changes in presidential administrations in two of the countries that the US sees as crucial partners in stemming migration (Panama and Mexico), it’ll be interesting to see how things unfold over the next several months leading up to the US elections on November 5.

In Panama, conservative José Raúl Mulino was elected on May 5 and will be sworn in on July 1. He has  pledged to close down the treacherous Darién Gap, through which more than a half a million migrants crossed last year. “The border of the United States, instead of being in Texas, moved to Panama.” He also pledged to “repatriate all these people.”

In Mexico, a new president will be elected on June 2 and inaugurated on October 1. The Biden Administration has worked closely with the current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to stem the steady streams of immigration into Mexico headed toward the US southern border.  Mexico has been cracking down on migrants at the Guatemala border and within its borders.  Mexico’s migration enforcement set a record in November 2023 with 97,969 apprehensions, only to break that record in January 2024 (120,005 apprehensions) followed by a short dip in February (119,943). And the Mexican government is busing migrants away from its northern border and sending them to destinations deep in the country’s interior or back to the southern border.  The large numbers of people currently bottled up throughout Mexico is causing harm to migrants and is unsustainable.

The next administration in the US will face political challenges with respect to border enforcement. Thousands of migrants currently in Mexico will likely try to head north again—not to mention the thousands yet to depart their home countries. Migrant justice advocates in the US continue to stress the urgent need for an increase in funding for the asylum process and efficient adjudication of those cases. The system dedicates fewer than 725 judges to a backlog of 3 million cases. The US government needs to invest in an immigration and asylum system that is faster, fairer, more humane, and sustainable.

Nicaragua's congress recently revoked a controversial canal concession awarded to a Chinese businessman after nearly a decade. The proposed canal, aimed to link Nicaragua's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, faced significant opposition from farmers fearing land seizures and environmentalists warning of its impact. Despite a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony in 2014, no actual work commenced on the project. The cancellation of the concession marks the end of a project viewed by many as unfeasible and environmentally risky. Critics of President Daniel Ortega's government saw the canal as emblematic of his increasingly repressive regime, while supporters argued it would boost the economy and create jobs.

To read the full article: Migrant Justice Newsletter - April 2024 | InterReligious Task Force on Central America (irtfcleveland.org)

Welcome to IRTF’s March 2024 newsletter on Migrant Justice and the current situation at the US-Mexico border. After you’ve looked through the articles, we hope you can take a few minutes to see the TAKE ACTION items at the bottom. In this newsletter, please read about : 1.  Changing Trends in Migrants at US-Mexico Border. 2. ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends . 3. Study Reveals: Border Wall Height Exacerbates Trauma Incidents . 4. At the Border: Recent . Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border . 5. Border Patrol and Local Law Enforcement’s Patterns of Abuse in Ohio’s Immigration Enforcement. 6. Raising the Credible Fear Screening Standard Will Endanger Lives but Won’t Fix The Border . 7. Children in US-Mexico Border Camps. 8. Migrants Mired in Transit as Mexico Becomes US’s Immigration Enforcer. 9. Kidnapping of Migrants and Asylum Seekers at Texas-Tamaulipas Border Reaches Intolerable Levels . 10.  Migrant Deaths in New Mexico and Western Texas . 11. Human Rights in the Darién Gap of Panamá.

 TAKE ACTION NOW. Here is what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.) A) SPEAK UP FOR DEMOCRACY IN EL SALVADOR. B)  SPEAK UP FOR PEOPLE IN HAITI. C) STOP DEPORTATIONS TO HAITI . D) PROTECT UNACCOMPANIED MINORS. E) VISIT CAPITOL HILL: #ReuniteUS. F) HELP REFUGEES & MIGRANTS IN CLEVELAND.