Southern Border Security? DHS Phones It In For Nicaraguan Migrants

A record 35,500 migrants from Nicaragua were encountered at America’s southern border in December. So what did the Department of Homeland Security do? It added Nicaraguans to a lengthening list of foreign nationals who can use a reservation system to enter this country.

DHS calls its system “rigorous security vetting,”but, in fact, the agency has no way to check for criminal histories in a diplomatically estranged nation that is a pariah of Latin America.

The Migration Policy Institute reports that more than 200,000 Nicaraguans fled their country last year. In response, neighboring Costa Rica, the nearest landing spot, imposed new restrictions on incoming Nicaraguans, citing widespread abuse of the asylum system. Costa Rican officials said many are simply seeking economic opportunities (not legal grounds for asylum) and would not be at risk of harm or persecution in their native land. Rebuffed, tens of thousands have headed north. . . .