Enduring Questions Grant Program

One of the most enduring myths of Yellowstone National Park involves its beginning. As the myth goes, in 1870, explorers gathered around a campfire at the junction of. If you wish to have your website linked, please contact Jonathan Wilson at jwilsonasianstudies. org. Grant Opportunities Alaska Conservation Foundation. Alaska Conservation Foundation Grant Opportunities. Alaska Conservation Foundation has been a dedicated supporter of Alaskas grassroots for over 3. Shifts in Alaskas economic and political landscape required that ACF undertake an in depth review of its grantmaking program.   The resulta new grantmaking direction seeking to build the influence of Alaskas conservation movement, focusing upon long term, enduring solutions that create more robust environmental policy and protections. Only by creating better environmental policy can we achieve the enduring conservation protection warranted by Alaskas global significance. Grantmaking Programs. Our grantmaking programs include Alaska Native Fund Provides an Indigenous framework for impacting critical environmental issues while promoting innovative strategies to strengthen the capacity of Alaska Native organizations and communities. Rapid Response Responds quickly to fast breaking, unforeseen environmental threats of statewide or national significance. Discovery Grants Program Supports small grassroots organizations.  Conservation Internship Program Develops the next generation of Alaskas conservation leaders. Watchable Wildlife Broadens support for conserving Alaskas wildlife resources. Conservation Achievement Awards Recognizes the achievements of individuals committed to protecting Alaska. Issues Campaigns. ACF also awards grants through issues campaigns. Unless otherwise specified, these grants are usually made by invitation only, directed towards the goals of the campaign and are awarded after review by a campaign steering committee. Theory of Change. The Foundations grantmaking is guided by ACFs Theory of Change, a framework that helps ACF to draw connections between our mission and the grantmaking and programmatic work we perform, plan and focus our efforts and measure effectiveness. Click here for more information. Questions. Please submit questions to grantsalaskaconservation. Increased Central American Migration to the United States May Prove an Enduring Phenomenon. Editors note This article was amended to correct the data on Mexicos FY 2. Figure 2 refers to apprehensions of Northern Triangle nationals. The values cited in the text have been amended to reflect this. More than a year and a half after the 2. Central America to the U. S. border reached its peak, recent flows have increasingly shown the characteristics of an enduring phenomenon, with significant policy implications for the United States and the region. While apprehensions of unaccompanied children and families from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras dropped in January after rising sharply in November and December 2. Evidence suggests the deeply rooted push and pull factors propelling these flows show no signs of relenting. During October 2. January 2. 01. 6, which represent the first four months of fiscal year FY 2. U. S. Border Patrol apprehended 2. UACs and 2. 4,6. Mexico and the Northern Triangle. This quarterly total amounts to half the unaccompanied children 3. FY 2. 01. 5. If the current pace of apprehensions continues and tracks the patterns of recent years, projected yearly totals would be significantly higher than the record 6. FY 2. 01. 4 and touched off a political crisis for the Obama administration amid the scramble to process and house the arrivals. A Look at the Trends. During the 2. 01. June, when the Border Patrol apprehended 1. By fall, amid significant policy and enforcement responses by the U. S. and Mexican governments, the numbers began to decline and remained at lower levels for much of the first half of FY 2. The decline led many to believe the 2. The respite proved temporary, however see Figure 1. Arrivals of both unaccompanied minors and families began to rise steadily again in spring 2. From March to December 2. Southwest border unaccompanied child apprehensions rose from 3,1. In January, apprehensions of both groups dropped sharply, to 3,1. Whether anomaly or new trend will become evident in the coming months. In FY 2. 01. 6 to date, 2. El Salvador, 3. 7 percent from Guatemala, 1. Mexico, and 1. 5 percent from Honduras. Figure 1. U. S. Border Patrol Apprehensions of Unaccompanied Minors and Family Units at the Southwest Border, FY 2. Data for FY 2. 01. Source U. S. Border Patrol, Southwest Border Unaccompanied Minor Statistics, various years, available online. The overall decline following the 2. United States and Mexico to stem the Central American flows, which have composed almost three fourths of all child and family apprehensions at the U. S. Mexico border since 2. The United States launched a public information campaign to warn potential migrants about the dangers of the journey north and to deny smugglers claims that those who made it to the border would be given permission to enter and remain in the United States. The Obama administration also scaled up its capacity to detain arrivals by opening new facilities, and began to fast track their cases on the immigration court docket. More importantly, and partly due to U. S. pressure, Mexico through its Southern Border Plan Programa Frontera Sur significantly stepped up immigration enforcement along its border with Guatemala and along popular migrant routes in the interior. While apprehensions at the U. S. border fell, apprehensions in Mexico rose significantly, suggesting that outflows from Central America remained fairly stable throughout 2. Mexican authorities before reaching the U. S. border. Indeed, though the combined apprehensions of Honduran, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan nationals by the United States and Mexico fell from 3. FY 2. 01. 4 to 3. FY 2. 01. 5, Mexicos share of apprehensions increased from about 3. Figure 2. Figure 2. Total Apprehensions of Northern Triangle Nationals by the United States and Mexico, FY 2. Sources Migration Policy Institute MPI analysis of unpublished U. S. Customs and Border Protection CBP data in Rodrigo Dominguez Villegas and Victoria Rietig, Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle A Statistical and Socioeconomic Profile Washington, DC MPI, 2. Instituto Nacional de Migracin INM, Boletn Mensual de Estadsticas Migratorias, arranged by FY 2. U. S. Customs and Border Protection CBP, FY 2. CBP Border Security Report Washington, DC CBP, 2. Why Are the Flows Continuing Despite the fluctuations in flows, the complex set of push and pull factors driving Central American migration has changed very little since 2. Violence perpetrated by criminal gangs continues to plague the Northern Trianglewhich represent three of the five countries with the highest murder rates in the world. Poverty and lack of economic opportunity in Central America, long a key driver of emigration, persist. Moreover, the United States is home to millions of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. While many are unauthorized and lack legal pathways to bring the children they left behind to the United States, the desire to reunify remains strong. U. S. laws and policies provide for unique treatment of unaccompanied children and families apprehended at the border, allowing many to be released and remain in the country for long periods of time as they await the outcomes of immigration court hearings. A key pull factor during the 2. In addition, sophisticated smuggling networks continue to operate and adapt. Indeed, migrants points of entry at the U. S. border have shifted since 2. Mexicos increased southern border and interior immigration enforcement. Some push factors have been exacerbated. El Salvadors homicide rate, for example, increased sharply in 2. Honduras, which ranked first in 2. Central America is also experiencing the most severe drought in decades that has squeezed agricultural production and particularly hurt small farmers. More than 3. 5 million people are food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance and the droughts impact has contributed to migration decisions for many poor families, according to a recent joint report by the World Food Program WFP and International Organization for Migration IOM. Beyond the Push Factors. In addition to Central American push factors, important pull factors within the United States continue to play a role in the flows. The vast majority of unaccompanied child and family migrants who arrived in recent years without authorization are still living in the United States. All unaccompanied Central American children and families who have established a credible fear of returning to their home countries are afforded a hearing in immigration court, where they can apply for asylum or other forms of immigration relief. The backlog of pending cases, however, had reached a record 4. January 2. 01. 6, with the average case taking 6. Asylum cases can take up to four years to be resolved in some jurisdictions. As of January 2. 01. FY 2. 01. 4 involving unaccompanied minors and 6. Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse TRAC. Immigration courts have granted immigration relief to 2. A further 3. 0 percent of unaccompanied children 2. Under U. S. law, unaccompanied children may also apply for asylum and have their cases adjudicated by U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS. In FYs 2. 01. 4 and 2. UACs were granted asylum by USCIS. Meanwhile, 1. 8 percent of children 1. Despite the large number of removal orders issued, just 3,7. October 2. 01. 3 and August 2.

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