Frogs in a Well: Why Migrate into the "Melting Pot"?

In the North American continent, two wars have taken countries by a storm. One, involving the massive influx of immigrants (many of them unaccompanied minors) from Latin American countries (especially Honduras and Guatemala); two, encompassing Congress, and its failure to surpass political interests in order to pass effective legislation. Though the two issues may at first seem distinct, polemics in both conflicts are involved in a game of "chicken and egg," with both sides implying that the present-day errs and complications are a result of the opposite dispute.

Most of the immigrants come from Spanish-speaking countries in the Northern Triangle. Mexico is excluded, as current immigration laws allow for the immediate deportation of Mexicans across the border without trial.

Since civil war first entered the scene in Latin America, the number of immigrants looking to the US as a haven from violence has been steadily increasing. Mainly, the number of unaccompanied minors that are crossing the border has grown by more than 117%. (51,729 youth migrants were counted entering the country in this fiscal year, beginning October 2013. Hispanics and Asian-Americans make up 2/3 of the immigrant population in the US, while Hispanics comprise 3/4 of the illegal population.) Youth often flee pressure to join one of the local gangs; if they succumb, their family may come under fire from enemy gangs while if they refuse, the offer is likely to turn lethal.

The route of drug trafficking and involved gangs through Central America via the main source countries of many refugees in the US.

Residents of Latin America have reason to fear for their lives. Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, the three major source countries of refugees and migrants, comprise the Northern Triangle, dubbed the "most violent region not involved in war." Homicide rates in these countries are at a record high, though the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Trafficking) reports that these rates may not reveal the full extent of violence, as many citizens do not trust the responsiveness of police enough to report crimes. Growing up in such circumstances, many youth are unable to receive education or a stable job, forming the Ni/ni generation, a group of over 20 million Latin American young adults (ages 15-24) that "neither work, nor study." Many such youth join the gang culture for a sense of purpose and protection, but end up heightening the intensity of violence, and force other youth to flee the country.

Members of the "Ni-ni generation," standing in an endless queue for the employment office.

If so many juveniles are bringing unrest to the country by joining gangs, why not abolish the gang culture? Unfortunately, the gang rivalry in Central America causing the loss of so many lives, finds its root in Congress's inability to handle the broadening crisis. The first generation of Hispanics that fled the civil war in their hometowns in the 1980s found itself without financial support, a stable job, nor the acceptance of mainstream Americans. (The lack of institutions to aid assimilation is often blamed on the government's inability to realize the potent impacts of immigration.) The children of these immigrants found solace in forming gangs with others like themselves, a phenomenon for which LA has received the nickname of "gang capital of America." According to early immigration laws, these youth were deported to countries such as Guatemala or Honduras; for many of the gangs, this was the first time its US-born members had ever set foot in the region. Today, these troubled juveniles have created one of the most dangerous territories in the world, an unrestrained gang war zone that makes the violence in the southern US seem like child's play. Gangs such as the Mara or 204th street gangs (named after the LA streets in which they were first established) have gained over 70,000 members each, and continue to resorted to drug trafficking and terror, unchecked by Latin American police forces or law enforcement officials.

If Congress were to pass a 'comprehensive immigration reform' bill, it could take the first steps in reorganizing the current system of handling immigrants, before tackling the unrelenting stream of new refugees.

So which came first? The chicken or the egg; the deficient immigration laws or the influx of Hispanic immigrants? Currently, the White House position states that extreme poverty and the endemic of gang violence paired with the lacking rule of law brought on the current calamity. What better country to seek economic incentives and refuge than the "country of immigrants"? However, according to House Republican (Judiciary Committee Chairman) Robert Goodlatte, "Word has gotten out around the world about President Obama's lax immigration enforcement policies, and it has encouraged more individuals to come to the United States illegally, many of whom are children from Central America." (What's Causing the Latest Immigration Crisis?) There may be a grain of truth in this statement as well. Besides the economic or refuge-motivated incentives, immigrants that cross the border today are discharged to the care of relatives with only an assigned date to appear in court. (Only Mexican immigrants can be immediately deported due to child trafficking laws.) With court appearance dates backlogged 587 days on average due to the lack of immigration court lawyers and judges, many immigrants think of their court appearance notices as proof of their legal status in the US, and contact family members with the false news. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether Congress and the White House will be able to reach an affirmative decision to stem the flow of immigrants by addressing the cause for their exodus (release of false news or gang crisis), or effectively integrate them into American society.