Mass Migration of Minors

The mass migration of minors, children and adolescents of both sexes, has been shocking the last couple of months and has concerned both their families, who reside in the countries of origin, and the authorities of the receiving countries—in this case Central American countries, Mexico and the U.S.

Every immigration phenomenon, whether of adults or a large number of minors, has its causes and consequences, all of them dramatic. Human rights and children’s rights regulations are worthless if all these rules are not followed, especially by countries like the U.S. who proclaim themselves faithful defenders of these rights. The immigration of Central American minors to the U.S. has turned into a humanitarian drama, brought on by traffickers or “coyotes” that transport undocumented people and expose children to horrible dangers. The poverty and violence in these Central American countries are the main causes of this social phenomenon.

According to written reports and video recordings, the trajectory immigrants take to the U.S. is extremely dangerous. It includes the risk of death and sexual assault of girls as well as the dangers found in the train that immigrants call the Beast, in which thousands of Central American immigrants travel to the U.S.-Mexican border, exposing themselves to accidents and crime. Once at the border of the United States they are vulnerable to dangers such as crossing the desert and weathering conditions that are harsh for children, the elderly and women who are traveling from the tropics to temperate zones.

U.S. authorities acknowledge that the rise in the arrival of Central American minors in recent months has overwhelmed the capabilities of border institutions, since they have taken extraordinary measures to shelter the children. According to U.S. authorities the number of unaccompanied Central American minors detained in the U.S. increased 66 percent in fiscal year 2013-2014, in comparison to fiscal year 2012-2013.

U.S. records show that about 9,850 Salvadoran, 11,479 Guatemalan and 13,282 Honduran children have been detained between October 2013 and May 31, 2014. As we can see, there are a greater number of minors from Honduras, which indicates that something serious is going on in our country and that it deserves all of the government’s attention. The United States has announced through Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson that it will deport many of those children, although it will allocate to each of the three countries monetary aid for security and social assistance programs. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, announced this monetary assistance when he met with presidents of Central America and Mexico.

Our government should create programs for at-risk youth as well as educational and welfare programs for children and young people with the aim of saving them from gangs, which are a product of organized crime.