US State Department provided internal assessments for reviewing asylum claims — Anadolu Agency

The US State Department has provided officials reviewing asylum applications with internal assessments of conditions in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The documents state that violent crime rates in parts of these countries are no higher than in some US cities, Anadolu Agency reports.

Comparison with the US

According to CNN, the internal assessments compare crime rates in the four Latin American countries with data from Baltimore, Houston and Memphis. At the same time, the State Department publicly warns US citizens about security risks in certain areas of these countries.

CNN also reported that these documents pay less attention to human rights violations, kidnappings and extortion than previous assessments. Asylum seekers must prove that they face persecution in their home country, so the materials may affect decisions on granting protection and relocation.

Assessments and experts' objections

Migration Policy Institute President Andrew Selee said that the assessments downplay the danger posed by criminal groups and weak local institutions, despite limited changes in the situation on the ground. According to him, the documents also do not take into account likely ties between the Honduran police and organized crime, as well as relocation risks.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The reports state, in particular, that Honduran police are generally willing and able to respond to requests for assistance. The State Department said the assessments were prepared and reviewed by regional experts to help US immigration authorities consider asylum applications.

The assessments emerged amid a delay in the State Department's annual human rights report, prompting officials to use alternative information about conditions in applicants' countries of origin. According to data from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse cited by CNN, 94% of asylum cases were denied in June, compared with about 50% two years earlier.

Trump administration officials said that travel warnings are intended to inform US citizens about risks abroad and do not necessarily reflect the level of danger for people living in these countries.