In response to President Trump's address to the nation on the situation at the US-Mexico border, Vicki Gass, Oxfam America Senior Policy Advisor for Central America and Mexico, made the following statement:
“The President's address to the nation sought to stoke fears and spread lies. The urgent humanitarian needs at the border are the result of this Administration’s heartless policies: the separation of children from their parents, the detention of migrant families, measures to slow down and prevent asylum-seekers from making their claims, and the failure to address the root causes of migration from Central America. The real crisis is the one felt by the families who are forced to leave their homes and risk everything for safety and a better life.
Rather than demonizing and criminalizing those fleeing violence and instability in Central America, the US should be doubling down to address the causes of migration and invest the necessary resources to fulfill our legal obligations and hear the claims of asylum-seekers. Women, children, and men fleeing violence and persecution from Central America deserve humane treatment and a fair shot at their legal right to asylum."