[HN Gopher] Growing number of Russians, Ukrainians seeking asylu...
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       Growing number of Russians, Ukrainians seeking asylum at
       U.S.-Mexico border
        
       Author : everybodyknows
       Score  : 54 points
       Date   : 2022-03-05 19:33 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (timesofsandiego.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (timesofsandiego.com)
        
       | yosito wrote:
       | I'm an American, and I've spent a lot of time in Mexico. I'm a
       | bit surprised that Ukrainians would want to come to the US from
       | Mexico right now. Mexico is a lot more distant from the current
       | conflict than the US, life there is more affordable, and the
       | weather is better. A lot of my American friends are leaving for
       | Mexico due to the current war.
        
         | dragonwriter wrote:
         | > I'm an American, and I've spent a lot of time in Mexico. I'm
         | a bit surprised that Ukrainians would want to come to the US
         | from Mexico right now. Mexico is a lot more distant from the
         | current conflict than the US
         | 
         | It's more distant in the sense that it is more committed to
         | good relations with Putin. Why Ukrainians or Russians fleeing
         | because of Putin's aggression (whether because they are targets
         | of it or dob't feel they can safely oppose it at home) might
         | not prefer that is... hardly mysterious.
        
         | 8bitsrule wrote:
         | Maybe they read somewhere that Trotsky moved to Mexico?
        
       | Vecr wrote:
       | Going by international laws on refugees, any country further
       | along the travel path can send these people back to the first
       | country in the path they consider safe, so for example the US
       | could send these people back to Mexico, Mexico could send them
       | back to Germany, and Germany could send them back to Poland. The
       | US has absolutely no obligation to take these people.
        
         | Xylakant wrote:
         | What international law are you talking about? The Dublin
         | agreement stipulates something like that, but that's a EU
         | internal contract and would bind neither Mexico nor the US.
        
         | andrewjf wrote:
         | Why should they send them back?
        
       | Pigalowda wrote:
       | In my opinion the US owes it to our Afghan collaborationists and
       | to Ukraine refugees to take them in. Our existence and foreign
       | policy is partly responsible for the upheavals in these places.
       | 
       | Hopefully these people can make it in alright
        
         | paxys wrote:
         | The two situations aren't at all comparable. US foreign policy
         | isn't what caused Russia to invade Ukraine.
        
           | ndnwkqod wrote:
        
         | 34679 wrote:
         | There is simply no moral justification for prohibiting the
         | movement of any human who has not been accused of a crime.
         | Nobody chooses what country they're born in. The least we can
         | do as a species is allow individuals to seek out countries that
         | align with their values.
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | ryankupyn wrote:
       | And we should let them all in - the people who are leaving Russia
       | now have an ardent desire to escape what is fast becoming a
       | totalitarian state, while the Ukrainians are, of course, fleeing
       | an invading army that has shown callous disregard for their
       | lives.
        
         | rufus_foreman wrote:
         | The article says they're in Mexico, not Russia.
         | 
         | What's wrong with Mexico? Why can't they stay there rather than
         | in the US?
         | 
         | Is Mexico a totalitarian state?
        
           | bitcoinmoney wrote:
           | Economic opportunitie? Isn't that obvious for you?
        
             | _-david-_ wrote:
             | Does that mean every person has a right to be in the US,
             | Canada, Western Europe, South Korea or Japan (and maybe a
             | few other countries)?
        
             | [deleted]
        
             | rufus_foreman wrote:
             | Nothing in the parent comment said anything about economic
             | opportunity.
             | 
             | It referenced escaping a totalitarian state. Is Mexico a
             | totalitarian state that people need to escape?
             | 
             | I live in a city where there's a lot less economic
             | opportunity than there used to be, a lot of manufacturing
             | work here that used to pay good wages moved to Mexico.
             | 
             | I'm pissed off about it to tell you the truth. Economic
             | opportunity? Really?
             | 
             | Had about enough of "The Economist".
        
               | eesmith wrote:
               | "Why Don't Refugees Stay in the First Safe Country?" -
               | https://care4calais.org/the-refugee-crisis/why-dont-
               | refugees...
               | 
               | > ... many times more refugees do stay in the first
               | country they arrive in rather than continue their journey
               | onwards. However, we also see cases where people first
               | arrive in a country such as Greece, Italy or Hungary and
               | initially do try to settle there, but, if that country
               | has economic problems like acute unemployment or food
               | shortages it becomes impossible for them to survive and
               | they end up destitute in the street. Some therefore
               | decide to move on to France, or further, due to a desire
               | to become independent and contribute to society. In the
               | long term this will benefit both the refugee and the host
               | country. ...
               | 
               | > Refugees who have lost everything due to war or
               | persecution face a daunting task in trying to rebuild
               | their lives. Ask yourself, "If I had to suddenly leave
               | home and everything behind me tomorrow, arriving to a new
               | country without shelter and without work, which country
               | would I go to and why?"
               | 
               | If I were a refugee and spoke good English and no
               | Spanish, I would prefer to live in the US where it's much
               | more likely I can support myself, and where the language
               | barrier is much smaller.
        
           | stevespang wrote:
        
         | paxys wrote:
         | Counterpoint - if they managed to get to Mexico they already
         | have asylum. International law regarding refugees is pretty
         | clear that the first safe country they reach has to hear their
         | case in good faith vs passing them off elsewhere. EU has such a
         | system in place, and so does the US itself with Mexico
         | regarding Central American refugees.
        
           | eesmith wrote:
           | There's no obligation to claim asylum in the first safe
           | country.
           | 
           | > There is no legal requirement for a refugee to claim asylum
           | in any particular country. There is a requirement for the
           | first safe country in which they arrive to hear their asylum
           | claim but, if this does not happen for any reason, the
           | refugee is then free to make their asylum claim elsewhere. --
           | https://care4calais.org/the-refugee-crisis/why-dont-
           | refugees...
           | 
           | > There is no obligation under the refugee convention or any
           | other instrument of international law that requires refugees
           | to seek asylum in any particular country. There has, however,
           | been a longstanding "first country of asylum" principle in
           | international law by which countries are expected to take
           | refugees fleeing from persecution in a neighbouring state.
           | This principle has developed so that, in practice, an asylum
           | seeker who had the opportunity to claim asylum in another
           | country is liable to be returned there in order for his or
           | her claim to be determined. - https://www.theguardian.com/com
           | mentisfree/libertycentral/201...
           | 
           | For example, the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement
           | says "Individuals entering Canada at a land port of entry
           | continue to be ineligible to make a refugee claim, and will
           | be returned to the U.S. unless they meet one of the relevant
           | exceptions under the STCA." -
           | https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-
           | citizenship/co... .
           | 
           | (Though with opposition: "CCC official: Frozen bodies show
           | why Canada must end agreement with U.S."
           | https://cruxnow.com/cns/2022/01/ccc-official-frozen-
           | bodies-s... )
           | 
           | As you say, the one between the US and Mexico only concerns
           | migrants from Central America. Not Europe.
        
       | beaned wrote:
        
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       (page generated 2022-03-05 23:01 UTC)