Dear Democrats: We owe migrants more than “decriminalization”

U.S. policies have created the disasters from which they flee

A farmer in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico waits for a coyote to take him north. NAFTA caused a surge in rural migration as farmers were flooded with cheap US imports. (Photo: David Bacon dbacon@igc.org)

Like many citizens of the United States, I was pleased to hear the consensus condemnation of President Trump’s punitive migration policies from Democratic presidential candidates during the last debate. Granted, It does not take much courage to condemn “holding children in cages.” Still, it was heartening to hear support for “decriminalizing” migration. That would certainly be an improvement over the abusive policies now prevailing on the border.

But granting that many migrants at our southern border are not criminals falls far short of recognizing the complicity of our government in creating the multiple crises Central Americans and Mexicans are fleeing. It is time for Democrats to go beyond just opposing the border wall, stopping child detentions, and decriminalizing migration. Migrants certainly are not criminals for fleeing conditions the U.S. government helped create. They are victims.

To this end, I would ask all Democratic candidates to raise their hands in the next debate if they would support adding the following items to the questions posed to migrants when they are apprehended or questioned at our border: