Central American youths caught long before they reach the U.S.
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 The
United States is the land of opportunity and some are willing to risk their
lives to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Many adults from Mexico and Central
America hope to be able to earn “big” money in the United States to send back
home and give their family a better life. Some
immigrants bring their families
and others leave them behind. In recent years, it seems that a new trend has
emerged. More youngsters have started crossing the
border alone. Sometimes they
let their families know of their plans and other times they just leave. They are
teenagers coming from different regions of
Mexico and Central America. Some have
worked from a young age in the fields as street vendors or alongside their
parents. They work to help supplement their family’s income, but the little they
earn is not enough. Immigrant children are attracted to the United States as
well because it represents the possibility of a better life than the one they
are usually living. They know that the workload may be just as hard or sometimes
harder, but a life in the United States represents a new beginning. To reach the
U.S. the Central American youths must first get to Mexico where dangers await
them. They are entering the country illegally and risk
deportation by the
Mexican authorities. Mexico deported nearly 3,800 unaccompanied youths in 2005
who had the intention of reaching the U.S. via Mexico compared to the less than
700 unaccompanied youths detained in 2003. The Mexican and American government
have stepped up their efforts to detain illegal immigrants and continue to
detain these in greater numbers.
Some of the dangers immigrants face on their way to Mexico and United States
include death, rape and robbery. Youths often lack experience and maturity that
can help them better prepare for the challenging journey that lies ahead of
them. Mexican authorities who are sometimes corrupt and bandits as well like to
target youths because they are more vulnerable. A 17 year old male claimed that
corrupt Mexican police beat him and stole all his clothing when he was a few
miles into Mexico. Wanting to return back to Central America, the young man
turned himself into immigration officials the following day. Unfortunately,
these types of stories are taking place, but sometimes they are worse. Some
gangs are on the lookout for migrating youths who have run out of funds and are
ashamed of returning home. The youths are sometimes forced into prostitution or
some other type of labor. There is also the possibility that they may be forced
into gang life. Those youths who are detained by Mexican authorities are
sometimes bused away to a bordering Guatemalan city called Agua Caliente. With
no shelter nearby and far from home, some youths cross into Mexico again. No one
is there to check them in or to provide security for them. The nearest shelter
is nearly 20 miles away in Quetzaltenango. The government shelter has 50 beds
and is constantly taking in more detained youths than they have room for. The
purpose of the shelter is to give children a place to stay so they are not on
the streets while waiting for their parents to pick them up. To accommodate more
detainees, the shelter sometimes sets up additional mattresses on the floor.
Shelters are quickly filled up with children and workers face the pressure of
having to make more space available for incoming detainees. Thus, about the only
thing they have time to do is verify the identity of the parents picking up the
child. They have limited time or often no time to sit down and assess the
children on why they attempted to cross the border. Due to the shortage of time
the workers are also not able to assess whether turning over the child to the
parent is safe. However, at least the Guatemalan and Mexican government have an
agreement where twice a week the child detainees are bused to the Quetzaltenango
shelter and two of its staff members are always present to take custody of the
children. There currently is no such agreement between the Mexican and Honduran
government. For those unaccompanied youths who do make it through Mexico, they
face yet greater challenges in their attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Last year alone, the United States detained nearly 6,500
illegal immigrants who
were unaccompanied minors. They were sent to government shelters, but even while
at shelters many youths are not discouraged. Like the adults, the young ones are
determined to get across the border and will risk it all at times. Sometimes
they start thinking about how to raise money to attempt
crossing the border in
the future. They are somewhat comforted by the fact that many others have
successfully crossed the border because this proves that getting across is not
an impossible journey. Border security measures continue to improve yet their
desire for a better life whether young or old still remains.
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