Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Thursday (March 28) to meet with Guatemalan Minister of Government, Enrique Degenhart, Honduran Security Minister, Julian Pacheco, and Salvadoran Minister of Justice and Public Security, Mauricio Landaverde, to discuss security issues. The meeting was a continuation of months of diplomatic negotiations.

The discussion was centered around the uncommon flood of migration from the Northern Triangle countries and how to approach the problem in a humane and secure way. President Trump also plans to cut off aid for those three countries.

I gathered information from Fox News to present this opinion piece on the situation.

Signing of pact

Secretary Nielsen signed a multilateral pact. It is to strengthen border security. It is also an agreement to address the emergence of human trafficking and smuggling, as well as allowing the sharing of intelligence and focusing on fighting the problem of transnational gangs. Representatives from each country will form a working group to meet several times throughout the year to oversee the above issues. Nielsen also met with officials from Mexico to address the prevention of the ongoing flood of migration.

Congress denies emergency truth

On March 29, Secretary Nielsen issued a statement about the crisis on the border stating that "the volume of vulnerable populations arriving is without precedent." Nielsen spoke about how agents and officers are overwhelmed by the influx of families and unaccompanied children attempting to enter illegally and how facilities are becoming overcrowded.

The call is out for assistance from department volunteers. In another effort to get action from Congress, since they do not know a crisis when they see one, Secretary Nielsen sent a letter of urgency, pointing out the severity of the situation. It is her hope that they will take action on this ever-growing emergency so that law and order will be restored on the border.

DHS pulls out stops on action taken

On April 1, the secretary informed US CBP Commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, that new steps need to be undertaken to address the ongoing security crisis on the southern border of the United States. Since Congress refuses to see the crisis and take any true action, Nielsen ordered Commissioner McAleenan to reassign personnel and resources to the Border Patrol Sectors. She also ordered an expansion of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) by increasing the number of migrants per day that are returned back to Mexico to wait for their court review.
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