SINCE 1980 at least 250,000 refugees from Central America have
entered the US. Most have done so illegally, paying ‘coyotes’ in
Mexico to help them slip past the border patrol. The United
States government does not regard Central American refugees as
political refugees. According to the Reagan administration the
majority come to the US as ‘economic migrants.’ They are quickly
deported unless they can prove a ‘well-founded fear of
persecution.’ There are hard reasons why Washington does not
want to classify Central American refugees as political.
Peasants from El Salvador and Guatemala have the misfortune of
fleeing countries which are American allies and staunch enemies
of Nicaragua and Cuba. The United States provides essential
military and economic aid to both Salvador and Guatemala. In
effect, by encouraging terror and violence in the region
Washington has helped create the refugee problem it now faces.
Politically, this is a reality which the Reagan administration
cannot afford to acknowledge by giving Ce