IRTF News

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was identified on August 2 as a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking and money laundering case against his brother, according to document filed in U.S. district court. Prosecutors say $1.5 million in drug proceeds was used to help elect him in 2013. Hernández responds saying he is a foe of traffickers who are out for revenge against him.

The ACLU said that more than 900 parents and children, including babies, have been separated by U.S. border authorities since U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, a George W. Bush appointee in San Diego, ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 children with their parents more than a year ago. "It is shocking that the Trump administration continues to take babies from their parents," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "The administration must not be allowed to circumvent the court order over infractions like minor traffic violations."

IRTF friends at the CIS in San Salvador have committed to building 15 of the desperately needed homes in the community of Paso Puente. Most of the families are headed by mothers living on about $3 per day from washing other people’s clothes. CIS, which has worked in a neighboring community for many years, is building trust with residents, getting more children into school, and identifying skilled laborers. Folks there are building their own homes, but they need us to support them!

Under U.S. and international law, the United States is obligated to hear asylum requests unless an alternative "safe third country" is stipulated through a bilateral agreement. Such a "safe third country" must provide security and due process for asylum seekers. Trump officials tried initially to pressure Mexico to sign a safe third country agreement, but the Mexican government balked, even as it capitulated to Trump's tariff threats and stepped up efforts to interdict Central American migrants. So, the Trump administration turned to strong-arming Guatemala.

Thousands take to streets in cities across Colombia demanding government action over the killing of social leaders.