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Expert: To stop immigration flood, US must help Central Americ

Cindy Arnson

Program Director Cynthia Arnson is quoted in this article about role the U.S. has in helping Central American migrants.

"PHOENIX -- If the United States wants to reduce the amount of Central American illegal immigrants pouring over the border, it needs to exercise its influence in the region, an expert said.

"We need to be much smarter about how we help governments," Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR's Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes, Making Sense of the Madness.

Arnson said a variety of factors resulted in the recent surge in immigrants coming to America.

"Conditions in their countries are just intolerable," she said, naming high rates of crime, violence and poverty as a motivating factor for at least 70 percent of immigrants.

Arnson said the U.S. needs to use its influence to improve the average daily life for residents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala if the tide is to ebb.

Though the U.S. is waging a constant war on drugs, Arnson said the arrest of kingpins and elimination of drug sites does little to lessen violence.

Arnson said an increased incorrect perception that the U.S. would forgive their illegal entry under President Obama's deferred action program also added to the push.

"I think the deliberate spreading of these rumors capitalizes on the hopes and the fears of these very vulnerable people," she said.

The U.S. has taken steps, along with Central American governments, to inform people the rumors about American leniency were false."

To listen to her interview, please click here

About the Author

Cindy Arnson

Cynthia J. Arnson

Distinguished Fellow, Latin America Program
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Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more