Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller addresses a listener's question about why Central Americans are fleeing their countries. He references an article from Telesur about Australia's plan to accept more Central American refugees, highlighting the complexities and potential challenges of relocation. Johnny critiques the idea, pointing out the cultural and linguistic barriers, as well as the questionable human rights record of Australia regarding refugees. He also shares anecdotes about Australian expats in Latin America and discusses the broader context of refugee resettlement efforts led by the U.S. and supported by Australia.
Johnny then discusses the U.S. and Costa Rica's plans to increase refugee intake from Central America, mocking the government's approach as 'government twaddle.' He criticizes the U.S. and other countries for their treatment of refugees, citing Australia's history of abuse in detention centers. Johnny speculates about sending refugees to Saudi Arabia, highlighting the country's harsh treatment of dissidents. He shifts focus to the economic conditions in Latin America, describing the prevalence of slums and the lack of safety nets, contrasting this with the U.S. social safety net and the lifestyle of poor urban residents.
Johnny reflects on how the American Dream was once a myth for Latin Americans but has become more widely known over time, with people now expecting free services and easy access to work. He then discusses the evolution of migration to the United States, particularly from Latin America, highlighting how the availability of information and the internet have transformed the process. He recounts an experience from five to six years ago when he and a friend saw pamphlets in a bus station in San Salvador that outlined the conditions under which migrants could remain in the U.S. These pamphlets, which included details about refugee status and asylum, were a significant factor in encouraging migration.
Johnny also notes the role of the internet in making the migration process more accessible, providing migrants with detailed information on what to do, what to bring, and even the best places to cross. He contrasts this with the past, where migration was less understood and more dangerous, and mentions the existence of a government website, www.uscis.gov, which offers comprehensive resources for immigrants, including education, child care, and employment support. Johnny expresses surprise at the extent of these resources and their availability in multiple languages.
The segment then discusses the U.S. government's extensive resources and programs available to immigrants, including job assistance, legal protections, and various federal and state benefits. Johnny critiques the accessibility and comprehensiveness of these programs, suggesting that they are so detailed and numerous that they effectively encourage illegal immigration by providing clear pathways and support for those seeking to enter the country. He highlights specific examples such as refugee and asylum programs, which are described as being overly detailed and even providing guidance on how to navigate the system, which he views as enabling illegal immigration.
Johnny concludes by discussing the ease with which Latin American individuals can apply for asylum in the U.S., highlighting the availability of downloadable resources and forms. He mentions the benefits of asylum, such as free medical and cash assistance, and notes that the U.S. government website encourages immigration. Johnny also critiques the role of politicians in making immigration easier, while acknowledging the potential for fraud in the asylum process. He concludes by promoting his expat resources and seminars as alternative options for those seeking to move abroad.
Topics
Refugee resettlement, Cultural and linguistic barriers, Australia's human rights record, Central American migration, Expatriate experiences in Latin America, Refugee policies and government plans, Treatment of refugees in Australia and Saudi Arabia, Economic conditions and slums in Latin America, U.S. social safety net and the American Dream, Migration to the United States, Role of the internet in migration, Government resources for immigrants
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:14 Why Are Central Americans Fleeing Their Countries? A Listener's Question and Johnny's Response 00:01:49 The Absurdity of Relocating Latin Americans to Australia 00:05:35 The Mystery of Refugee Detention Centers in Costa Rica 00:06:04 U.S. Refugee Plan and Government Criticism 00:06:40 Human Rights Concerns in Australia 00:07:31 Economic Conditions in Latin America 00:09:16 U.S. Social Safety Net and American Dream 00:11:49 Introduction to the Migration Experience 00:12:41 The Impact of the Internet on Migration 00:16:08 Government Resources for Immigrants 00:17:19 Government Resources for Job Seekers and Legal Protections 00:18:15 Government Benefits for Immigrants 00:19:30 The Capper: Encouraging Illegal Immigration Through Detailed Programs 00:23:27 Downloadable Resources for Asylum Applications 00:24:01 Special Situation Asylum and Its Broad Definition 00:25:31 Critique of Politicians' Role in Immigration
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started Okay today. I'd like to start off by addressing an email from a listener named Barbara. Hi Barb now It might seem like she's asking a very simple question, but believe me It's quite complex and as you'll see if you're on the fence or haven't got that play and be going by now man
[00:47] This surely will push you over the edge Now normally if you're in mixed company and this question comes up Many good people and humanitarian types will spit out the obvious simplistic answer, but believe me There's nothing simple about it, especially if you haven't had any real boots on the ground in Latin America So here goes and I'll paraphrase this. He says dear Johnny. I was unaware of this Please click the link below. There's an article you should see then she says Johnny Can you tell me why Latin Americans specifically Central Americans are fleeing their countries in such great numbers? Is it economic violence or what? Okay, let me read a bit from the article It's from a media website called telesur T-E-L-E-S-U-R and the title of the article is Australia to accept more Central American refugees say what?
[01:38] I'll bet you didn't even know Australia was a place. They relocated Central American refugees Hell till I read this article. I didn't know myself man the stupidity of it all now This article is less about Central Americans being relocated to Australia, which in itself is mighty weird Which makes you wonder how thousands of uneducated non-English speaking Latin Americans will do in the land of wallabies Barbies Sheila's and didgeridoos? Anyway, the article goes on to say while moving thousands of Central American refugees to Australia is seen as a step in the right direction Australia still has a questionable human rights record when it comes to refugees Okay, it's me Johnny again. Just thinking out loud here I wonder do Latin Americans that sneak into the u.s. Know that they just might be relocated to Australia
[02:29] How about that you sneak into the states thinking you'll find a safe house and some friends at uncle tulios in tuxan or my jammy However, if you're picked up by immigration and yet refugee status, you just might end up with a 14 hour plane ride to Australia The next thing you know, you're on the tarmac facing a pack of kangaroos By the way in australia not one in ten thousand people speak spanish And definitely no latin neighborhoods suburbs or latin quarters to hang out in no place at all Like nueva york chicago or my jammy where you could spend the rest of your life and never speak a word of english In other words, if you're a latin refugee relocated to australia horror of horrors You'll actually have to learn english to survive Well the australian version of english anyway Hmm now imagine a latin person speaking english with an australian accent now
[03:19] There's a youtube video for you by the way I've been down in latin america more than a quarter century now and i've met thousands of latins But never one who'd ever been to australia and the ones whose faces lit up when I mentioned australia Until I clued them in thought I was talking about austria Anyway, the article goes on to say australia's annual intake of central american refugees is expected to climb to 19 000 over the next two years It's part of a un general assembly plan led by the us who else wonder how the common australian man is feeling about that All right, just a little aside here. I do run into the occasional australian down here in latin america Most of them low budget backpackers who just love it down here and some stay on for good
[04:06] Like a good friend. I did some radio stuff with down here. We called him captain kangaroo. What else? And yesterday after reading this article, I phoned up one of my australian friends who has a little business down here He said man johnny actually said crikey. I lived in melbourne all my life It's a big city and they've got about five mexican restaurants, but they ain't any more mexican than taco bell He said they're all staffed by asians Then he admitted that after living 25 years of his life in australia. He never met a latin american ever So why did he come to latin america? Well, like a lot of australians he did the backpacker thing for a couple of months back in the 90s Saw latin america loved it and found it ridiculously easy to start a business down here
[04:53] By the way, he's in the whitewater rafting and tourism thing Oh, and you might find this interesting He said if you think latin's transplanted to australia are going to find typical grunt work and off the books jobs Just like they do up in the states dry walling gardening maids and all that. He said forget about it The indonesians and the aborigines have all the minimum wage and gray market jobs all locked up Anyway back to the article then it says after that bit about accepting 19,000 refugees from central america over the next two years. There's more We will also participate in a u.s Lead program to resettle latin american refugees who are currently in a resettlement center in costa rica Wait a minute a refugee detention center in costa rica
[05:39] You didn't know that either. Did you which begs the question? How'd they get there when costa rica is south and the flow of central american illegal migration is north up to the us? Hmm. How'd that happen? Anyway australian prime minister malcolm turnball speaking at the leader's summit on refugees at the u.n General assembly praised the move his country has made to absorb the refugees Then it says in july the us also announced its own plan to increase Refugee intake from central america amid the ongoing violence in the northern triangle comprised of guatemala honduras and el solvador And here's something else. I don't get well actually I do it sounds crazy, but you know This is government. It says here as many as 200 refugees at a time will be hosted by costa rica
[06:27] What hosted like throwing a bash a party or a ball for them? Now I could read on but it's all just a bunch of government twaddle from people who never worked a day and an honest real job In their lives, by the ways There's a statement from a human rights activist that says australia itself is a bad place for refugees that they have a history of violently abusing people in detention camps and even says that there are leaked documents detailing more than 2000 incidents of violence of abuse at a certain government a detention center on an island called manus Hey, if that's the case, I have an idea Why don't we just hand them over to a benevolent middle eastern country like saudi arabia? Where they maintain law and order by simply lopping off a few heads a week in the public square So anyway, I and a lot of people can understand why people reading articles like this will ask that seemingly simple but complicated question
[07:19] Why in the hell are all those latin americans specifically central americans fleeing their countries for the us? Why are those latin's leaving is it economic violence or what? Well, let's start out first with the topic of economics, you know, the people that leave everything their home their families their culture Well, not really they haul their culture and their language along with them, which is one of the big problems But I digress as usual. Anyway, they have nothing and they've got absolutely Nothing to lose now if you've been down here to latin america and you've meandered around any of the medium or large-sized cities You'll see that about 20 to 30 percent of those places are absolute disgusting slums By the way in brazil, they're called favolas in the rest of latin america ascenta mientos
[08:08] That's ascenta mientos They're chaotic neighborhoods of squatters that took root decades ago on very crappy pretty much useless land That's where the uneducated masses flowing in from the boonies looking for work Squatted since they had no money or resources and nowhere else to go So throughout latin america, not just central america You've got 20 to 30 percent of the city areas Anyway that are to put it kindly absolutely disgusting and you and I would never want to live there So the land's no good most of it angular and precarious Which is why no one meaning the governments did anything about it when the people started moving in and taking over these places And of course the people living in those slums are very poorly educated with a lot of the older people illiterate With adolescents and young adults having maybe a fourth to sixth grade education
[08:55] So they're really never going to get ahead unless they get the hell out of those scummy areas And hopefully get some education and then that'll bring some culture a logical progression But it just doesn't seem to happen that way and here's a point we'll come back to in a second They have no safety net except an extremely awful government national health care system. That's about it All right. Now, let's look up north to the u.s Every medium and large-sized city even some of the small cities have a disgusting area called the slums or the bad side of the tracks Whatever most all of them subsidized heavily by the us social safety net the people living there So-called poor urban folks of the us have without lifting a finger a lifestyle That's economically much better than any middle-class latin who works for a living. They've got cars and refrigerators air conditioners
[09:47] Washers dryers cable tv netflix free schooling free health care housing transportation and heating allowances Some even take vacations a sad lifestyle for sure as viewed by working class people But to latin americans, especially central americans who can slip through the border easily up to the united states That's more than living the life of riley. That's easy street And i'll tell you there isn't a poor latin american living in a ghetto down here that doesn't know that lifestyle exists And if they get there they'll get a piece of that too now a couple of decades ago when I first came down here before the internet and before international telephone service was cheap and good Very few latin americans knew all of those perks were available up in the states Sure Most of them had friends and families that slipped in by hook or crook and got their piece of the so-called american dream by working
[10:38] Hard for it. I mean, how do you think that term american dream came about anyway? It was the stories they told and the pictures and the care packages they sent back home as well as the infrequent Expensive phone calls that fueled the next round of family and friends to come on up But still in no way was the word out like it is today that it's a land of milk and honey up in the states All you got to do is show up Then you'll get work and you'll get all kinds of free stuff However, when I first came down to latin america and heard all the stories from the locals It was all about going up to the states to get some work No one ever talked about the safety net or the freebies even back then when minimum wage was three or four bucks an hour Doing practically any kind of no-brain grunt job It still was five to ten times the amount the average latin american made down here
[11:26] Now me and a lot of long-term expats knew the game was up Things were changing fast back when obama was running for office back then for the first time poor but happy latins The masses barely getting by selling junk on the streets and such started talking about things like free obama phones and free obama shoes Whether they existed or not. It didn't matter the rumor was out there And in fact five or six years ago expat eddie and I were in a bus station in san solvador That's when we first saw some pamphlets strewn here and there and posted on telephone poles and such advising people and telling them How easy it was to migrate to the us saying come one come all Of course that phrase in itself is not enough to make anyone drop their whole lifestyle and sneak through the border up north
[12:12] Except the pamphlets had something different written on them something extra something i'd never seen before It said right there in spanish in bold black and white letters Under certain conditions if you got picked up and said the right thing Us immigration and homeland security will not turn you back. You can remain in the us As long as number one you had a kid with you And number two claimed refugee status and asked for asylum So instead of being deported you'd be given refugee status What no one ever predicted was how the internet would be such a game changer Suddenly everyone who had a dream of going to the states knew the ins and outs the tips the do's the don'ts What to say what to bring what to do and the best places to slip in and out In fact nowadays the coyotes have a virtual gps law enforcement tracking system
[13:01] Now before maybe just five years ago If you'd have spoken to practically any average middle class or lower middle class or poor latin They all would have said they would love to move to the united states. They all had a relative or a friend up there They'd heard the stories not to mention They were all just a bit jealous and envious of uncle Julio in nueva jersey or tuxan suddenly He's become the most important member of the extended family the guy who hit the lottery who's so rich He could send a couple a hundred bucks back a month in remisses a direct connection to the promised land However, it's one thing talking about the good life you can have up in the states The folks back home also know there's a lot of danger on the coyote trail So bottom line everyone wants to go but they're thinking about the downside, too
[13:47] What if they get robbed raped murdered or more likely caught and shipped back after spending all that money on coyotes? And speaking of that, you know, it's a funny thing. I've heard so many latins down here Tell me about wealthy cousin Juanito's drywall or window repair service up in cleveland Must have heard 50 stories like that over the years However, i've never heard a single story of some friend or family member who had one of those bad experiences robbery rape Whatever surely it's happening, but it's something that families don't talk about or sweep under the rug They only talk about their success stories. That's human nature, right? Now if you've been keeping track of this illegal alien business You know, it's only been in the past five years or so that it's exploded out of control Sure It's been helped along by latin immigrant word of mouth coming down from the states to latin america
[14:35] The rumors of the free phones and the tennis shoes and such but up to just a couple of years ago Those were only unconfirmed rumors And it's true very few people no matter how terrible their lifestyle is are gonna drop everything leave their homes neighborhood life and their family Just done rumors. They need something more than that Think of it all the millions of latins living in really crummy terrible conditions in city ghettos Don't even bother to pick themselves up and move 20 or 30 kilometers away out of the city Where things are nice and safe where the fruit is virtually falling off the trees But no instead it's a family member or two hoping it up to the states hoping to hit that american dream jackpot Hail the conquering hero, huh? So yes, there's violence gangs drug wars and poverty confined to those bad areas in the big cities
[15:23] But people don't move they can but they don't Like a bird living in a stinky tiny cage all its life You open the door and often they don't fly out they prefer the crap hole that they live in to the unknown Now before five or so years ago, that was the case in the slums and crappy neighborhoods of latin america until dirt cheap phones arrived and the internet took off and now Get ready for this something you've never heard before and it's really going to piss you off. But here goes check this website out www.uscis.gov Tools settling dash us So what's that all about? Well, the us government for the last couple of years now
[16:08] Has had an official welcome to the usa website for immigrants illegal and otherwise Providing all the necessary information all the perks safety nets and benefits immigrants can receive once they've arrived You won't believe how complete and extensive this website is Okay, here's a sample. Let me go through some particular items here guaranteed to piss some of you listeners off First of all, it says this guide is available in 14 different languages downloadable on a pdf and free Now i'm going over to the left column on this page where it says tools and resources. It says education and child care services for immigrants Then there's a link that says how to find public schools near you Another link says government preschool programs for low-income children
[16:56] Then it specifically talks about head start saying head start is a federal program for preschool children And their low-income families then it says free and low-cost meals And they provide another link the u.s Department of agriculture provides information here about the national lunch program and other programs of free nutritious meals to children Okay, let's skip over to employment here It says the us federal government has the resources to help you look for a job develop a resume and prepare for a job interview And note there are federal laws that protect job seekers against illegal discrimination Then it says all workers in the united states have certain rights federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against you because of your race color religion including Discriminating against women who are pregnant their national origin or age etc. Okay. Now. Here's a link that says
[17:45] immigration related unfair employment practices Here the u.s. Justice department provides information about immigration related job discrimination and how to respond and get free legal Representation if you think you're a victim of it All right. Well to some that sounds sort of reasonable in a first world advanced country Provided the country was not broke bankrupt over taxed and out of resources Hmm. Can you think of one that qualifies? I can't All right now to the good stuff. How about this? I'm clicking on a link called government benefits for immigrants It says here depending on your immigration status You may be eligible for many different federal benefit programs In fact, it says you can check your eligibility here for state and federal benefits
[18:33] And it says the u.s. Government offers more than 1000 federal and state benefits programs and packages that may be available to you Did that sink in? 1000 benefit programs then it says immigrants may be eligible for medicare Medicaid and children's health insurance program called chip food assistance for women infants and children Temporary assistance for needy families and get this help for immigrant survivors of domestic violence Have you heard of that one before? Then there's links for child welfare programs resources for at-risk youth and families resources for immigrants with Disability problems and developmental disabilities there's a link how immigrants can get public housing from hud
[19:22] And on and on I mean on and on you probably could spend two days going through these links and still not finish However, here's the capper I mean, this is what really turned the tide and has opened the floodgates for illegal latin americans to come to the states There's a link on this site called refugees and asylum Which points out to the guy or gal sneaking in exactly what to do and say to avoid deportation now get this First there's a pop-up box that says latest immigration headlines Here's where you'll see all the news on special programs and circumstances going on right now Here's where people can find those narrow windows of immigration opportunity that are opening and closing all the time depending on the country For example, it says on august 1st 2016 the department of homeland security announced an 18-month
[20:13] Redesignation and extension of temporary protected status for syrians Well ain't that good news then it says on july 8th. The news is Temporary protective status is extended for people from el solador Talk about politically correct. They don't call people who sneak into the us illegals They call them special immigrants or people without nationality Okay, looking a bit down the page. We've got the real meat in the sandwich. How about this? We've got this title sentence It says the us provides a number of humanitarian programs and protection To assist individuals in need of shelter and aid from disasters oppression emergency medical issues and other urgent circumstances
[20:59] Such as the following and then there's a link for each one of these conditions number one Refugee it says the refugee status is a form of protection that may be granted to people Who meet the definition of refugee and who are of special humanitarian concern? It says under us law a refugee is someone who is located from somewhere outside the us demonstrates they were persecuted or feared persecution due to race religion nationality political opinion or Membership in a particular social group. Hey, wait a minute. That sounds an awful lot Like what the us government is doing to its very own citizens Hmm. Are you getting this and then there's a link called the refugee process Followed by a link that says how to come to the united states followed by a link that says
[21:45] how refugees can bring their families to the us and on and on and there's even a pop-up chat window where you can chat in Spanish with someone about your particular case It says need help need advice. Ask Emma And I mean there are so many links on this page How to get help for this how to apply it for that free program click here for the forms to download Need help with the forms click here to have someone help you live online. It's all here For example right here. You can click to get the form. I dash seven thirty It's the refugee asylum relative form Then there's form. I dash 485 application to register for permanent residency as an asylum seeker
[22:31] Then there's a pdf six twenty three dash kb titled how to get a refugee travel document And another called how to adjudicate your asylum Refugee claim form and get this there's a pdf called the u.s state department's central american minor Refugee slash parole program and believe me I'm just touching on less than one percent of the stuff that you'll see on this government website You really have to see this site to believe it. Yes. It's your bloated malignant government completely out of control so bottom line Latins know about this stuff and they're all thinking once I get in i'm set Oh, and by the way, this website wants you to apply as a refugee so badly
[23:16] They actually have a downloadable document called an interview request and review tip sheet Hmm, isn't that kind of like having the answers to the final exam? Oh, and I forgot to mention there's a downloadable report on how latin american miners can apply for asylum hearing that There's no wonder so many young kids are sneaking in. Oh, and by the way, it says here Refugees will receive free medical and cash assistance But that's not all this thing is never ending. Listen to this under bringing your family to the u.s Just file the form i dash seven thirty called refugee asylum for relatives petition Click on the link to download the form, etc, etc, man I could just go on and on with this then there is what they call special situation asylum
[24:07] It says some natural catastrophes and other extreme situations can occur that are beyond your control And with these events you could become a special situation asylum seeker Hey, wait a minute. That definition includes just about everyone in the known universe Oh, well, I give up as bob barker would say come on down or come on up Oh, and how about this a downloadable tip sheet for foreign nationals looking for asylum? Who've been impacted by natural disasters or other calamities in their home country? Well that about covers everyone in the known universe too, doesn't it? How about this link how to qualify for temporary protective status? Oh, you ought to see this one So there you have it a u.s government website Welcoming or I should say encouraging everyone to come to the usa
[24:53] They tell you exactly how I'll give you every piece of the puzzle step by step. Go ahead. Check it out for yourself You just won't believe it again, that website is Www.uscis.gov Otherwise known as the welcome to the usa website So if you're wondering why illegal immigration from latin america has ramped up so dramatically in the last five years or so It's not necessarily clear that there's more crime or poverty Statistics show that poverty is on the decrease in latin america Once again, wouldn't you know it we can lay most of the blame on those pus-brained politicians They've made it all so much easier and have opened the floodgates
[25:41] By the way when you're ramping through those pages Notice it doesn't say anything about what the penalty is for lying on those forms and applications That said let's say a person from honduras snuck into mexico paid a coyote 3000 bucks to get him into the states once there he gets caught by homeland security What do you think the chances are he'd tell a few lies on an asylum application? In order to have the chance to stay in the states legally. Where's the smart money there? Oh, i'm sure i'm gonna get some hate mail on this. They're gonna say johnny You're a racist classist whatever but i'll bet you a bitcoin if you go to that website and check it out You'll change your mind All right We're towards the end of the show now And i'd like to mention once again that there are other options and solutions and another plan for getting out of dodge
[26:26] For people who can't afford to get boots on the ground or come down to one of my expat insider seminars I understand most of you just can't drop everything and come down not yet Anyway, but all is not lost not by a long shot. You've still got options. You can still move forward with that plan B Yep, you can get started now right from mawakee dallas or cleveland. Just go to www Expatplanb.com. That's where you'll be able to check out my new expat essentials audio video course done by me yours truly That's www.expatplanb.com If you go there now you can get three free videos to see exactly what it's all about By the way about my next expat insider seminar in january 2017
[27:12] I've still got a few spots open. Just go to www.thenewexpat.com Click on johnny's 2017 seminar link at the top of the page and you're there Yep, you can still get in on the early bird discounts. And finally, don't forget to check out my youtube channel That's youtube slash the expat files all one word. Do subscribe. It's free You've been listening to the expat files living in latin america coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me the expat files at gmail.com And if you want me to help you sort out your own latin american plans schedule a one-on-one consult with me Just send an email and let me know at the expat files at gmail.com. Nos vemos