New York Times
By Azam Ahmed
October 6, 2015
The
recent images of tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers
streaming into Europe recall a smaller but significant migration crisis
unfolding along the southern
border of the United States: Waves of Central American migrants — many
of them children — were detained at the border last year.
A
disturbing number of unaccompanied children from Honduras, El Salvador
and Guatemala have tried to reach the United States in the past two
years, risking detention by
law enforcement, abuse by human traffickers and dire conditions along
the way.
From
the beginning of October 2013 through July of this year, nearly 80,000
unaccompanied minors from those Central American countries were detained
by United States authorities
along the Mexican border.
And
those were the ones who made it that far. Others were ransomed by the
very smugglers to whom their families paid thousands of dollars to sneak
them into the United
States. Some lost limbs during the journey or found themselves sold
into sexual slavery, still others turned back.
What would drive children to make such a perilous journey without their parents or another adult?
Endemic
gang violence in Central America and lack of economic opportunity for
young people, as well as governments unable to adequately respond to
those problems, have
driven many young migrants north. Others have sought to be reunited
with their families who had already left in search of a better life in
the United States.
The
situation has alarmed American officials and forced them to confront a
growing crisis to the south. The authorities responded by announcing a
plan for $1 billion in
development aid to help address the causes of the crisis.
Even
before those funds have been approved, the number of migrants reaching
the United States has begun to drop: Fewer Central Americans have been
stopped along the southern
border with Mexico in the last fiscal year. Some American officials
have said this shows the success of tighter border controls and better
public information campaigns in the region. However, there was a slight
increase in migrants stopped at the border in
August.
In
reality, the problem seems to have simply been pushed farther south:
Many of the young migrants are now stopped entering Mexico instead.
The
Mexican government detained close to 92,000 Central American migrants
from October 2014 to April 2015. During the same period, the United
States held 70,448 people
from places other than Mexico, according to data from the Washington
Office on Latin America.
The
desperation in Central America driving people north has not abated. The
escape route for many migrants has, for now, just shifted.
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