Indigenous Migration from Latin America
Within the overall crisis at the US-Mexico border is another struggle that is mostly ignored–Indigenous migrants are facing “communication difficulties, cultural barriers and anti-Indigenous discrimination” in their migration journey. Due to the communication issues, official processes for asylum claims are often not known about, and “migrant advocates say it is not the norm for CBP officials to offer thorough interpretation services for Indigenous language speakers” nor does CBP know how many asylum seekers are Indigenous. According to TRAC at Syracuse University, there are 40 different languages spoken among pending asylum cases. Latin American Working Group gives an overview to why these Indigenous communities are migrating.
For those Indigenous migrants who are able to continue their journey into the United States, Los Angeles is one of the main centers of community. CIELO released a StoryMaps piece called “We Are Here: Indigenous Diaspora in Los Angeles” in collaboration with UCLA AISC, UCLA Promise Institute for Human Rights, and UCLA Bunche Center. Hear more about the project in Latino USA’s podcast, here. Finally, BIMI has a resource on how to support Indigenous Latinx students in school, found here.