PLACA presents: Maria Cristina Garcia

Central Americans and the Politics of Refuge Garcia will discuss Central American migration to Mexico, the United States, and Canada during the political upheaval of the 1980s and 1990s: how each of these three governments responded to the presence of Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Nicaraguan refugees within its borders, and how their policies influenced the character and flow of migration across the region. The presentation will also discuss the individuals, groups,  and organizations that responded to the refugee crisis, and who worked within and across national borders to shape a more responsive refugee policy. It was the pressure exerted by individuals and non-governmental organizations that worked first-hand with the refugees that forced these states to address the crisis. Collectively these individuals and organizations established domestic and transnational advocacy networks that collected testimonies, documented the abuses of states, re-framed national debates about immigration, pressured for changes in policy, and ultimately provided a voice for the displaced and the excluded.