Most American citizens have never attended a “Citizenship Ceremony” at a Federal Courthouse before. To hear the stories and understand what it means to the people immigrating to this country and WHY they endure so very much to get to 🇺🇸 America. You get an understanding of what it means to be a “Naturalized Citizen” it was eye opening for me when my wife from the Philippines became a American citizen. People born here take so much for granted!
Most immigrants coming into the US also didn’t get enslaved for centuries and go through a century of Jim Crow. Sucks for these people going through this current situation in Darien Gap. But until I get reparations none of this is my problem.
My grandparents fled the Armenian genocide in Turkey. They escaped horrific conditions of slaughter and forced marches. My grandfather's cousin had been foraging for food, ever scarce. He came home to find his entire family slaughtered to include his pregnant wife's baby cut from her womb. I understand well the horrors that immigrants are trying to flee from tragic and unimaginable horrors. It is repeated with immigrants of every color. My grandparents were responsible citizens and loved this country, and ingrained in us the importance of accepting other people's religions and ancestry. Why do these people make such perilous journeys? To save their families. It is deplorable to suggest that these are mostly people from insane asylums and prisons.
This is the kind of reporting the US media needs to do a lot more of. In fact perhaps all those "reporters" at that "thing" at mar-a-lago could be reassigned to useful things like this? I am still beyond angry they did not challenge any of Donold's responses. Lies are not answers, not challenging lies is not journalism.
Question is:Why are people leaving their homes in Central and South America? If you want to end this immigration problem we need to improve the lives of people in Central and South America.
I'm afraid it's bigger and worse than just Central and South Americans. This might surprise you, but the projection of 800k next year, is far more than just those two regions. I don't know if you've seen the multiple reports and the footage, but thousands of Chinese, Africans, Haitians, and yes Ukrainians and Russians. Even Middle Easterners. Some of them keep going up to Canada--watch the reports if you want, but they have an odd border rule up there where they have to "tell" you what you're doing is wrong--and then let you in. The whole world is in flux, and Europe and North America look like the best functioning life preservers. But Europe and America are having a backlash against these movers. So, I don't know how this will go. But other than making the departure countries more hospitable it's only going to grow. And surprise, surprise, Americans are moving to Mexico and Central American countries where the dollar goes further. I've been watching this for years as I plan MY move to Cyprus and learn Greek. hahaha. So it's gonna be a wild next few years.
I read The Atlantic article. Absolutely horrifying. Describing how they pass dead body after dead body. How they lose children, have to leave loved ones who are too injured to continue behind. I was almost in tears, contemplaing how bad their lives must be at home to dare to attempt this crossing. These people are not rapists and murderers. They are families desperate to get to a place of safety. My heart goes out to them. I wish this country would understand how important it is to welcome them and not punish them.
And? They have so MANY OTHER COUNTRIES to go to. Chile? Argentina? Brazil? Why MUST IT BE AMERICA? If you're actually seeking asylum, passing all these countries to cherry pick the USA then you don't have a valid asylum claim. They are economic migrants which is illegal via international asylum claims. Hypocrites.
Do you lock your doors? Post your address? Let me send them your way. Don't ask questions why they are here that's racist. Just let them stay in your home, unlocked and pay for them. Bet you won't do it, you hypocrite.
The problem is the vast numbers of people coming. We don’t have the infrastructure or resources to handle that many people. The majority of them do not speak English. They may not even speak Spanish or Portuguese, depending on where they come from there are hundreds of pockets of native languages that people in an area primarily speak. In addition to the language barrier you have a vast group of people the majority of whom have no job skills, no education, and the type of work they are eligible for isn’t going to support a family in the US without them needing assistance like section 8, SNAP, etc. The vast majority will be denied asylum if they even show up to their court hearings and don’t just disappear. And it doesn’t get talked about enough but a good amount of identity fraud is caused by illegal immigrants. How do you think they are buying cars, getting jobs at factories, or renting apartments? Stolen SSN’s. Usually those of children. Feel free to look it up, it’s a real thing. The US is better off creating a class of visa similar to the one they use for agriculture workers if they want to fill low paying, hard labor jobs with migrants. And removing jus soli as a basis for citizenship. People can apply from their home country to come here and do the jobs they are qualified to do anyway, we will know who has come in, and it will help with the overflow of people swarming the border.
This is heart wrenching. These people would not take such perilous journeys if they didn't feel compelled to do so. By putting them at the mercy of organized criminals, governments make those criminals more powerful and in turn they are able to expand their criminal enterprises even more inside every country where they operate. Compassion for the migrants and their families would be beneficial for everyone. I'm sure they would prefer to hold jobs and provide for their families in their home countries. If there's no way to make that happen then there should be a better plan for providing them a safe, properous and productive lives. Shame on all those who would punish vulnerable people trying to provide for their families.
So sad I met a family with 2 kids under 5 yrs old in Guatemala heading north from Venezuela with no shoes no food nothing. It's hard not to have tremendous feelings for this situation unless you experience and see it with your own eyes. I have met Drs in FL from Venezuela and others who would not have left if the life under Maduro the dictator wasn't so difficult.
You realize by taking the immigrants you are fueling the cartels, right? You’re giving cartels the power to take over their whole country. You’re adding fuel to a massive drug problem.
@@MyLoganTreks right! Nobody wants to leave their home. What’s wrong with US that we are upset about our neighbors to the south, South American coming here?
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away, there used to be the statue of a Lady holding a torch. To go along with this massive welcome beacon there was a famous poem that listed only one requirement, for those who wished to come to her shores: That they were "Yearning to breathe free." Not a word in that poetry demanded any other qualification for an immigrant.
And? They have so MANY OTHER COUNTRIES to go to. Chile? Argentina? Brazil? Why MUST IT BE AMERICA? If you're actually seeking asylum, passing all these countries to cherry pick the USA then you don't have a valid asylum claim. They are economic migrants which is illegal via international asylum claims. Hypocrites.
Incredible story. Americans should see this & have compassion for these desperate people. There's so much more to the "immigration problem" than we understand. The migrants in this report are not drug lords, human traffickers, prisoners, or "asylum" patients. They are families, children, infants. Why can't billionaires like Musk & Bezos do something to help?
The former president did help. He had programs in place in Central and South America in an attempt to relieve the conditions that brought about people in that part of the world fleeing their individual countries. The previous administration initiated, the, Remain in Mexico’ program that was supported by the Mexican government. American immigration officials travel to Mexico to interview those foreign nationals wanting to enter the USA. Those who met America’s law were given the necessary paperwork. As soon as Joe Biden took over as president, he eliminated all of these worthwhile and working programs. we see the result today. Thanks for asking.
Because not everything is our problem. We need compassion for our own children and women first. Their problems are theirs. Sorry. Don’t have kids in a country you want to flee.
@@HermitLady Your last statement is right, to a degree. But there is no excuse for your heartless attitude. You join Musk as 1 of the worst people alive.
It reminds me of the story of Alan Kurdi. He died almost 9 years ago along with his mother and brother when they drowned in the Mediterranean ocean trying to escape the Syrian war. The extreme desperation came from how bad the situation was in Syria where they were facing near certain death. They risked everything because they had no other options but to turn to human smugglers and board a small rubber inflatable boat to travel from Turkey to Greece. He was but one child among thousands who were escaping a desperate situation that we can’t begin to imagine. As the mother, who’s child was the same age as Alan, the story has stayed with me all these years because I can’t imagine being so very desperate that I would be willing to take such a risk. Nine years later, and I still cried as I typed this.
We are all, "Americans", both continents North and South. The United States (sentence subject) of America (preposition subject) makes me wonder. Referring to US as Americans reminds me of the sports teams using First Nations names and caricatures as mascots. I wonder why we almost exclusively use that moniker when referring to ourselves. The journey my grandparents made immigrating from Sweden in 1869 was not without difficulties. But they were helped along the way and handled efficiently when they arrived. As a US Citizen my hope is the country of United States will tear down the walls of fear and hate and streamline the process at point of entry so people don't have to swim through razor wire find haven. It has been done efficiently in the past.
In my humble opinion, our biggest failure is when we allow ourselves to view our fellow humans as less than human. Or we see them as a statistic or less than ourselves. When we fail to see someone else as being equally human..... we fail to see their hopes, dreams and fears. We become numb to the injustices, cruelty, discrimination and pains they face.
how idiotic is it to blame the United States for a route between Columbia and Panama? Multiple countries are responsible for this dangerous journey to be allowed...NOT THE UNITED STATES.
Velshi starts with a quote from 1699. Had he gone back a couple centuries, the landscape would have been much different. Vasco de Balboa was the first European to cross the isthmus. In his journal, he described what he saw as an endless sea of grass. Tropical vegetation can change a lot in a few years.
Thank you for a powerful report. One suggestion is to mention root causes of migration, policies supported by the US government over the last decades that produce displacement and migration.
There are so many ways to exploit their cheap labor. Labor camps, work to citizen ship program, service in the army for citizenship. America has the potential to out compet china for cheap labor and still offer these people a better life. Yet you let racism prevent astronomical profits
@@jkang3882 I don't think he said that at all. I think he was making a general statement about respecting others for their bravery and determination, something many Americans seem to lack.
God can bless them in their own country. They don’t need to come here for it. 😁. Maybe he could help them fight for a better living situation there. 🤷♀️ 🙏
Why can't we admit that American foreign interference is the main reason these people are displaced. Remember what happened last time a country told America NO and kept their own natural resources 😅?! We have a responsibility to these people
@@windstorm7756 A simple Google search you can do all by yourself. If you don't think US foreign policy has effects outside the US borders, you are either ignorant, naive or just willfully ignorant.
One lady I helped for a few days carried her Club footed son from Venezuela to the United States. There was no chance of him getting help in Venezuela.
Make your own country great. The citizens of these countries need to take a stand. Lives will be lost but its a sacrifice for the better cause. What, you're going to run your whole life. Make change.
Just a minor note: there are no soldiers in Panama. Panama abolished it's arnés forces in 1990. The country does have an array of different police forces. Ali, I can understand how you may be mistaken (although you should have the facts straight), but Lynsey, having worked in the country, should definitely know that Panama has only Police and no armed forces; no soldiers.
As the wealthiest nation in the world, it is shameful that we don’t do more to help and welcome such people. Especially since the policies of the past have contributed so much to the problems the people are trying to escape.😢😢😢
Important story. So much diminishing and criminalizing immigrants at the border. One wonders what must they be running from to embark on such a treacherous and possibly deadly journey in order to reach a border that they may never be able to cross.
Make sure they do not trash up America 🇺🇸 Like they do in there country. I'm seeing more and more trash every day along the side of the roads and creeks and rivers. They will not clean the gas pumps and put the trash in dumpsters. I get out to get gas. And dead rat's laying around the gas pumps. Trash blowing out of the trash cans. They do not even come out and put paper in the gas pumps. So people can get there recipes. They need to respect America 🇺🇸 Not trash it up. God Bless America 🇺🇸
What? You have no clue who they are! I could say the exact opposite and be just as right as you. No one knows anything about them. Intelligent? Intelligent people don’t try to raise kids in a country they want to flee. That’s selfish.
And? They have so MANY OTHER COUNTRIES to go to. Chile? Argentina? Brazil? Why MUST IT BE AMERICA? If you're actually seeking asylum, passing all these countries to cherry pick the USA then you don't have a valid asylum claim. They are economic migrants which is illegal via international asylum claims. Hypocrites.
Neither party cares to do anything about this problem. They are needed to keep our beautiful economy humming. How can “self made” happen without these humans? Exploitation is the name of the American game. And we need these people for it!
DO NOT BLAME SENAFRONT. The US has expanded its border to the Darien Gap. Last June, the US sent a lot of people, I think Mayorkas was one, Blinken may have gone too, to Panama precisely to deal with the migrant situation. Before these visits, Panama provided a lot of support and assistance to these immigrants. They were welcomed. SENAFRONT burning a facility was unheard of. Then, Americans came after the election of pres Mulino, and the country changed its tone. Immigrants suffer a lot on their trek to the US. I once learned about a Brazilian who came to the US by bicycle. I cannot even imagine. Do keep your eyes wide open. The moment Petro is replaced by a right-wing president, the US will descend on Colombia, and the new American border will be with Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil.
@@trishhunt4085 that's exactly what @NormEngel-ge2it is suggesting. People these days seem to have forgotten what being a parent means. When you have a child you are responsible for the child's safety, it is NOT the trafficker that has any obligations towards your kid ... And if a parent is dumb enough to trust a CRIMINAL then I'm sorry but no sympathy on this end. Some will argue that she had no choice, she wanted better life for the kid or what not, but 1.that does not justify willingly putting a child in danger and 2.don't blame the smuggler (it's what they do - people is just low-value cargo to them).
show the migrants the slums in the USA, show them the homeless, show them congress corruption and over all show them the ultra right wing behind Trump. I often felt any latin country a paradise opposite the US.
North, Central and South Americans working together could make a walking bridge, a bicycle bridge or a train bridge running North or South, East or West with food, water and humanity protecting supplies. We could also find lots of people who do protective work to guarantee control of other organized crime gangs. Just travel around San Pedro Sula in Honduras and you will never travel without seeing a man with a gun protecting property and people. These guys are fro starving families and are willing to carry a gun and protect property and people just to get a survival money to pay for food and health care for their families.
… you want the US to pay to build a path to make it easier for people to reach the US border? We are spending millions of dollars to convince these people to stay home & apply for asylum through an app. We aren’t going to pay for a bridge.
The root cause of the issues is the exploitation and lack of equal opportunities that less wealthy states/nations/countries are facing against wealthy powerful nations who are and have been oppressing them. So many places whose people live in poverty have great resources that is being taken unfairly by big business. Of course corruption in their governments come into play as well. It's horrifying to hear that this dangerous route is being advertised as safe and that children are facing all kinds of dangers from the lies and propaganda. I'm still horrified about the child separation policy that came into play and that they LOST 500 children! That screamed child trafficking to me.
This is just the beginning, a tidal wave; the dislocation occurring be it political/economic instability and climate crisis will soon become a tsunami. The US is not the only country facing massive migrations, Europe too is having to work through this humanitarian crisis. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions. This short program and the interviews of these two courageous journalists is a pebble. More pebbles are needed.
We've known for at least 200 years that immigration - "legal" or "illegal" - stimulates economies. But xenophobia is a cheap vote, and too tempting for bad actors, over and over and over......
If it's cheeper and easier to fly and cross over from Canada for these eastern counties why are they spending thousands more to fly to a more remote region like south of Mexico? Doesn't make financial sense or logistical. It's very easy to cross the Canadian border
@@arenhopins2643it is not. Depending on the country of origin you most likely need to apply for a visitor visa and if the officials aren’t convinced you will return home after visiting Canada they’ll deny you one.
I knew George Meeghan, who walked from Tierra del Fuego to Point Barrow. Darien Gap was one of the toughest stretches of his trek. Panama was most dangerous, though, contrary to advice he had gotten along the way. People in Colombia were totally nice. In Panama, he was robbed and stabbed.
If you make it through the Darien Gap, up through Central America and Mexico on foot, avoiding or dealing with Trafficers, con artists and the like, your not coming to America to commit crimes.
Do you lock your doors? Post your address? Let me send them your way. Don't ask questions why they are here that's racist. Just let them stay in your home, unlocked and pay for them. Bet you won't do it, you hypocrite.
Well intentioned laws to regulate the flow of migration, will ALWAYS have the effect of pushing those who don't can't or won't qualify for entry to take these more risky routes, and thus fall into the hands of the corrupt and exploitative. Some will die, some will get sick or injured, some will get sold, yes sold and never make it (or if they do, they are indentured to the smugglers and their partners for a long ,long time.) and some will give up, turn aside or turn back. the vast majority I feel will never enter the US of A, only the 'lucky' ones.
Perhaps we should also speak about how US Tax payers $ are be given to the Panamanian government to try and seal off the passage routes. Yet that isn't working. Oh and that man and his wife's cousin. It was his wife's cousin's boyfriend in Dallas who sent them the money to make the trip. At the end of the article it mentions she is living in Dallas, cleaning offices, living with her children and the boyfriend. So exactly how was she allowed to work legally so quickly?
The Darien Gap can be civilized if civil society wanted it to be. Likely one day China will build a belt and road passage in the Darien to transport good produced in Panama and Columbia back and forth. If China decides to rebuild the Panama Canal for their large ships, their goods could be distributed North and South, East and West after unloading to rail yards next to the Canal.
its all one land. people been travelling. its the colonial settlers who cut the panama canal and made the journey even more difficult. indigenous people are stronger than journalists. they ve been fighting jenocide.
Excellent story, more Americans should be aware of the situation that our very presence creates in the world. That's what makes America great . 🌎✌️🌍. 🔵🇺🇲1775🇺🇲🔵. America Remember ❓
Say whatever you want, but if these people can travel thousands of miles through dangerous jungles just to get to AMERICA and once they make it to USA they should be accepted, strong humans that made a sacrifice and travel through Darien gap, should be accepted in any country. I bet Americans would NOT dare travel the same route to get to the USA if they had to.😂
There was a documentary about children riding trains ( mostly on the tops / roof of trains) up from south America and how some didn't make it. Most become victims along the way
what saddens me the most are the childrens for everything they have to suffer, to finally reach the American Dream and discover that they are loocked down upon just because of their color or hear their parents called animals. In normal circunstances this people would never come to the United States.
@johnbergman2746, there are ~ 300M people in the United States. On average, every day, just one of those 300M produces more garbage/trash than all the refugees combined. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Leonardo, anyone wondering why you are such a bitter person just needs to visit your RU-vid channel and watch you trying to be an artist whilst having zero talent. It's sad, really, and explains so much about your attitude.
@@prometheus23c A: I'm not bitter. B: I don't claim to be a singer-just someone trying to have fun. C: I'm am however a fairly accomplished actor/filmmaker and a recognized-award-winning visual artist whose work is owned by such people as Jimmy Fallon, Ringo Starr and President Clinton...But thanks for writing.
America can not care for all of the peoples of South America. The boarders must be secured and South Americans must be informed that they will not be able to get in unless they apply and be approved before making any journey. After this America can work with South American countries to improve their economies, law and order, and citizens rights so that they will not want to leave.
8 Billion people is too few, we need 16 Billion people, 32 Billion people or best yet 64 Billion people ASAP because more wonderful people means more brilliant minds to solve environmental & socioeconomic problems. A.I. if you are listening, please help us solve the avalanche of human problems.
Almost a million people a year trying to go thru there?! I can't even imagine the amount of trash and human excrement's that they have left! Every photo of migrants that they took were surrounded by garbage! I know they're desperate people and i feel compassion for them but that habitat is severely tainted now.
It's actually more than a million people a year coming here. In the beginning of this freedom flotilla there was 10,000 to 14,000 coming through the gates every day ,no telling how many come around the fence. I think brain dead Joe said a couple of months ago though they're going to slow it down to 5000 per day
You ever been to Texas City, Texas? Or Baton Rouge, Louisiana? Gary, Indiana? Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? If you haven't, then I recommend a toxic chemical contaminated environment treasure hunt. Its a fun filled jaunt to collect water and soil samples, with the winner being who gets the highest percentage ppm's of known carcinogens, with bonus points for the highest number of known carcinogens. It's a hoot!
some people will proudly display their admitted ignorance of the world around them, sometimes these same people shell out hard earned money for trump sneakers, bibles, and mug shot t-shirts while complaining about the economy and gas prices. sad.
I speak for all Americans when I say America absolutely LOVES president Trump and JD Vance and will be voting them right into the White House this November 2024 ❤🇺🇸🙏🏻✌🏻
