Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The COVID-19 pandemic cannot be an excuse to backtrack on the commitments made to promote and protect the rights of migrants, regardless of their legal status, stressed the United Nations.
In the framework of the International Day of the Migrant, which is commemorated every December 18, the organism explained that it cannot be a pretext either for making more arrests, besides the forced return to their countries of origin without the due process, in many cases in violation of the international law.
For the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, this is a year of crisis in which "millions of people have suffered the pain of separation from friends and family, the uncertainty of employment and have been forced to adapt to a new and unknown reality".
This year, he said, there has been an awareness of our dependence on migrants, who are often invisible in communities, but have played a leading role in the frontline response to the health crisis, either by caring for the sick or ensuring food supplies during confinements.
He added that migrants must also play a central role in the recovery and ensure that, regardless of their legal status, they are included in countries' response to the pandemic, particularly in health and vaccination programmes.
"We must reject hate speech and acts of xenophobia. We must also find solutions for migrants who have been stranded, without income or legal status, and without the means to return to their place of origin," Guterres added.
The Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), António Vitorino, also recognized the important work that migrants have done as frontline actors in maintaining essential services.
"The dedication and entrepreneurial spirit they have shown reminds us that when we move from pandemic response measures to recovery efforts in the coming months, migrants must be an integral part of the return to normalcy," he said.
Human rights are not a prize or reward, he explained, but "are an inalienable right of all people, regardless of their origin, age, gender and legal status. However, for migrants to be able to fully contribute to their and our recovery, we must support and protect them.
In turn, UNESCO's Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, urged the international community to promote the fundamental rights of migrants, such as security, dignity and peace, as this is an imperative duty.
"As Iranian novelist Dina Nayeri writes: it is the duty of every person born in a safe room to open when someone in danger knocks on the door. This duty is part of our humanity, a humanity on the move through ideas, people and cultures," she said.
According to a Department of Homeland Security estimate, there are 6.6 million migrants in the U.S., of which Mexicans remain the largest undocumented immigrant community, accounting for 51 percent of the total.
That community is followed by undocumented immigrants from El Salvador, with 7.0 percent; Guatemala, with 5.0 percent; India, with 4.0 percent; China and Hong Kong, also with 4.0 percent each; and the Philippines, with 2.0 percent.
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), undocumented persons represent 23 percent of U.S. immigrants, with naturalized citizens representing 44 percent, legal permanent residents 28 percent, and temporary visa aliens 4.0 percent.
It is worth mentioning that California is the state that hosts the most undocumented immigrants, with 2.62 million, representing 24 percent of the total, followed by Texas, with 1.73 million (16 %); New York, with 866,000 (8.0 %); and Florida, with 732,000 (7.0 %).
