[바이든 취임 D-1] American Dream on fire… 9000 people in Central America’Caravan’

Guatemalan military police begin to withdraw caravans of immigrants to the United States. Caravan walking to the border crossing point of El Florido, Guatemala on January 18, 2021 (local time). © Reuters = News1 © News1 Reporter Seoyoon Choi

Ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, the American Dream reignited in Central America, and more than 9,000 people joined the immigration procession, or the caravan.

Guatemala and Mexico, which are gateways to transit to the United States, have announced that they will mobilize military and police to stop them, but as Biden professed the immigration policy as a “100-day inaugural task,” their expectations are not expected to fade easily.

◇ “I will not return to Honduras until I die”: According to the Honduras Daily El Pais on the 18th (local time), Alexander, 24, who participated in the caravan said in an interview with AFP.

He worked as a taxi driver in Honduras and lost his job after the spread of Corona 19. I’ve already spent three nights on the street. Guatemalan police have blocked the road, but I have no intention of giving up in the midst of leaving to die anyway.

A woman holding a baby in a caravan for Central American immigrants to the United States. © Reuters = News1 © News1 Reporter Seoyoon Choi

According to the Spanish ABC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Honduras said that a caravan, consisting of 922 men, 780 women, and 407 children and adolescents, departed from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for the United States on the night of the 15th. Now the number has exceeded 9,000, and they have joined from all over Central America and the Caribbean, including Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

In addition to the Corona 19 pandemic, Biden’s election became a hope for the Honduras who were only desperate after two hurricanes swept through. Biden said he is preparing to reform immigration policies that are friendly to illegal immigrants.

Some say they give more residence permits, faster, and increase the number of refugee screenings. There is a growing expectation that the number of beneficiaries of the Dhaka (DACA) and Temporary Protection Status (TPS) system, which are the deportation system for illegal immigrants, will increase.

However, it is predicted that it will take several months for the US-Mexico border barrier, which the Trump administration has built by spending 150 billion dollars (about 165 trillion won) to break down. “Border issues can’t change overnight,” said Susan Rice, director of the Policy Committee, and Jake Sullivan’s national security adviser who join the White House with Biden-elect.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is announcing a $1.9 trillion (about 2082 trillion won) stimulus package for the Corona 19 economy at Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware on the 14th (local time). © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo

◇ 11 million immigrants who came first… First test of’integrated’ leadership : Even if the caravan stopped in Guatemala manages to reach the US border of Mexico, problems remain.

Even if Biden takes office, there are 11 million illegal immigrants who arrive in the United States and wait for residence permits, as well as policy amendments such as stopping the construction of border barriers and changing immigration procedures.

According to Fox News of the United States, there is already a growing concern in the United States about the problem of caravan crowds not wearing masks and further waves of immigration in the future. Former Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich tweeted, “How many new illegal immigrants will come by 2024?”

Nevertheless, their expectations for the American Dream are not expected to decline until April 30th. Biden has included the immigration problem in his 100-day inaugural assignment and expressed his willingness to resolve it quickly.

It is observed that the immigration policy of Biden’s new administration, starting on the 20th with the banner of’integration’ and’recovery of US values’, is on the test.

[email protected]