July 10, 2019

The Asylum Surge Is Finally Starting to Ease Up

Border apprehensions are finally down a bit:

The big argument, apparently, is over what caused this decline. Was it stepped-up Mexican enforcement? Or is it just the usual summer drop?

Probably both. Plus a third thing that no one is talking about: what goes up must come down. This asylum boom has been bigger than ones in the past, but they never last forever and this one was never going to last forever either.

If Donald Trump hadn’t mismanaged both the border and our Central American affairs in general, this might never have happened. Or maybe it had nothing to with Trump. There’s no way to know for sure. But Guatemala has been a cesspool of crime and street gangs for many years, and only under Trump did that turn into a huge migrant surge. Maybe Obama’s mushy, soft-hearted plan to help Guatemala become a better place to live had something to it after all.

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DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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