Jake Kincaid

(Reuters] – This year, the United States deported a record number Nicaraguan migrants. Data reviewed by Reuters shows that this is because Nicaraguans fled Central America to flee President Daniel Ortega’s clampdown against dissent.

Erlinton Ortiz was one of the more than 5,000 Nicaraguans that had returned from the United States to Nicaragua in 2019, and was sent home last year. Washington is accusing Ortiz of violating civil rights, corrupting officials, and staging sham election.

Ortega is an ex-Marxist guerrilla leader and Cold War antagonist from the United States. He claims he defends Nicaragua against foreign forces plotting to overthrow him.

Ortiz stated that he flew to the U.S. in 2019 after friends from university who helped organize anti-Ortega protests, were taken into custody and placed in a jail where they tortured political prisoners.

Ortiz stated that instead of being sympathetic to his situation Ortiz was removed from the courtroom after making a brief appearance before an American judge.

Manuel Orozco (a Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think-tank migration expert) said the United States must align asylum decisions with its foreign policy towards Nicaragua. President Joe Biden has accused Nicaragua of “repressive or abusive acts”. As a result of an election it claimed was rigged against Ortega, the administration of his son banned Nicaraguan officials from coming to the United States.

Orozco explained that Nicaraguan refugees face different risks than people from Central American nations. In this country, rampant criminality and poverty are more important threats than the party politics. This is why migrants often head for the United States.

Asylum seekers who are fleeing violence from gangs cannot obtain U.S. residence under U.S. law. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-immigration-asylum They must convince authorities they have credible fear of persecution on grounds of their race, religion, nationality, or political opinions.

Orozco stated that Nicaragua is about “state terrorism.”

A request to comment was not answered by the White House

According to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRACS), the number of Nicaraguan immigrants awaiting hearing by judges increased from 4145 cases in 2018 when protests erupted, to more than 34,000 this month.

This year’s total of 19,000 cases was a new record.

Most cases end in deportation. More than 60% deportation actions for Nicaraguans ended in deportation from the United States.

Only 1,253 Nicaraguans were granted permission to reside in the United States. TRACS data shows that many of these cases will remain open for investigation into 2019.

Ortiz stated that he was finally deported from Nicaragua to January 2020, after five months of waiting in detention centres for his hearing. He claimed that he did not have a lawyer.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm Ortiz’s account.

He was arrested upon landing in Nicaragua. Police told him that he would face terrorism charges and that he must wait for an interview at the home of his parents.

Ortiz fled to safety and sought asylum in the United States. In July, he was released and now awaits his hearing in California.

The Nicaraguan government didn’t respond to inquiries about the matter.

Over 50,000 Nicaraguans were caught trying to illegally cross the U.S. Border in 2021. That’s up from 2,291 in 2020 according to Customs and Border Protection data.

The number of Nicaraguans in U.S. immigration court was once very small. In the past, there were less than 500 deportation applications per year. According to TRACS data, the number of deportations filed in fiscal 2021 was the sixth highest, right behind Mexico.

Astrid Montalegre (lawyer and president of Nicaraguan American Human Rights Alliance) stated that not all U.S. judges are aware of what is happening in Nicaragua and the conditions. She was referring specifically to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

They do not have to deport you.

A U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review official stated that asylum judges review all evidence and decide on individual cases.