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US uses radio spots to discourage migration

2021-07-15T23:18:57.138Z


The more than 30,000 radio spots a month are intended to deter migration and address its causes in Central America.


Transform the pain of family separation into painting 1:55

(CNN) - The

United States broadcasts more than 30,000 radio spots a month in Central America to deter migration amid a new focus on the region and root causes pushing people north, said a spokesman for the State Department to CNN.


The campaign is designed to combat a number of factors that draw migrants to the US-Mexico border, such as misinformation spread by smugglers and the widespread belief among migrants that border enforcement has been relaxed under the Joe Biden government.

In recent weeks, several senior administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have visited the region in an attempt to instill hope and discourage migration to the southern border of the United States.

Harris's balance after visiting the US-Mexico border 4:02

The State Department will reinforce that message by running thousands of ads locally, an effort that has grown slightly since the spring, when the administration ran 28,000 ads a month.

But it is not clear how effective they have been.

"The evidence tells us that if you want to change the narrative, it has to come from people's trusted networks. That's the bottom line," said Andrew Selee, president of the Institute for Immigration Policy.

"I can understand that you want to do anything to change the narrative, change the balance of the people who leave, but this seems to be an exaggeration."

Radio is the medium most people use outside of big cities, Selee said, but messages are less likely to be echoed if they are not delivered by well-known people, such as religious leaders or respected public figures in the region.

Earlier this year, the number of migrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala detained by the Border Patrol was on the rise, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Those numbers began to decline in April, although they remain high.

  • Biden Administration Expands Humanitarian Program for Central American Minors

A spokesman for the State Department said that the increase in ads per month "is not due to an increase, but to the prices of the stations' packages."

advertising

"The State Department's campaign to deter irregular migration includes digital advertisements on multiple platforms, radio works, creative content management, measurement and evaluation, and hired labor resources," the spokesperson added.

The total cost is about $ 600,000 per month.

The ads, which are broadcast in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, are in Spanish and five indigenous languages.

In an advertisement currently running in Honduras that was shared with CNN, a man and a woman discuss their hopes for the future.

The man expresses his desire to go to the United States to earn enough money to support his parents and children.

The woman agrees, but says she wants to get it in her country.

"But why do you want to stay here? Don't you think you would be more successful if you left?" The man says in Spanish.

"Before I dreamed of going to the United States. But here I have my family and the opportunity to do something for my community," replies the woman, who stresses that they have to fight for their dreams and work to improve the country.

"My dream was American. But now it is Honduran," he concludes.

The narrator ends by saying that the ad of about 40 seconds is from the United States government.

Immigration in Latin America

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-07-15

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