Under the Comprehensive Assistance to Returned Families and Unaccompanied Migrant Children in the Northern Triangle of Central America Project, the U. S. Embassy of El Salvador participated in the official presentation of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Directorate for Migrant Care.
“More than a pretty building, this center will bring together all needed services for repatriated families, in a dignified and friendly environment. Together with the Salvadoran government, we share the desire to minimize the physical and psychological impact on migrant Salvadorans migrants during their repatriation process,” said the U. S. Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires Michael Barkin.
The U.S. Government committed more than $7 million to improve migration management capacities for processing and assisting returned migrants in El Salvador,Guatemala and Honduras. The project is implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is being carried out in the three countries of the Northern Triangle.
“What we are seeking to support is more humane and orderly migration for the benefit of mobile populations, this is a goal, a real commitment we bring to life daily with our work and joint efforts with related institutions,” said the Head of IOM Mission for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras Jorge Peraza Breedy.
“A project like this allows all government institutions to act together, to give a warm welcome to our compatriots who are returning from the United States and Mexico,” said the Director of Immigration Hector Rodriguez
The Foreign Affairs Minister Hugo Martínez urged attendees to not put themselves at risk on an uncertain and dangerous journey. The official also spoke about a process of reintegration which seeks to help returning migrants. “This is a step that we will be strengthening with the United States government in the framework of the Alliance for Prosperity,” he said.
The facilities of the Directorate for Migrant Care have an area containing ten cubicles for the process of reception and interviews, a renovated area to attend to people who require information on consular services or programs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spaces for the psychosocial care of returned children and adolescents, waiting rooms that can accomodate 200 people, two medical clinics and a nursing preparation area, an interview area for the National Civil Police (PNC, by its Spanish acronym) and spaces for civil society and international cooperation.
