CNN reported Wednesday that State Department reviews compare crime in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador with rates in U.S. cities, a comparison that may affect asylum officers’ decisions on protection and relocation.
The documents cite Baltimore, Houston and Memphis as U.S. city examples. Applicants must show they face persecution at home. Officers may also weigh whether a claimant can move elsewhere in the same country, making the reviews relevant to protection eligibility and relocation claims.
The U.S. government issues travel warnings about security risks in parts of the four countries. Trump administration officials say the notices inform U.S. citizens about risks abroad but do not necessarily describe the danger faced by residents. The notices address travelers, while asylum reviews may affect decisions on applicants seeking protection.
Kidnapping, extortion and human-rights abuses receive less attention in the new documents than in earlier versions, CNN reported. One Honduras review portrays police as generally responsive to requests for assistance.
Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, said conditions have changed little, but the assessments give too little consideration to criminal groups and gaps in local institutions. He said the Honduras review fails to address allegations of police ties to criminal networks and the risks of relocating within the country.
The State Department said regional specialists assembled the assessments and reviewed them for immigration officials weighing asylum claims. A delay in the department’s annual human-rights report has left officers using other material on conditions in applicants’ home countries.
CNN cited Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) for data showing asylum denials accounted for 94% of cases in June, up from about 50% two years earlier.
