Alarming Homicide Rate Pushes Immigrants to Flee Latin America
Homicide and other gang-related problems have caused the increased number of immigrants fleeing Latin America. According to Truth Out, in 2015, the surge on accompanied minors reaching the southern U.S. border caused an alarming deportation process that was greatly protested by immigrant advocates.
Relying on some humanitarian effort from the U.S., Latin immigrants continue to arrive at the borders with compelling reasons of escaping violence, poverty and for their own security. Just recently, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement started their deportation of illegal immigrants who entered the state starting mid-2014.
While advocates condemn the action, other agencies with the help of humanitarian lawyers seek emergency protection for the immigrants. They also warn immigrants not to speak to any ICE officers in order to secure their stay in the country for a bit more.
In a statement given by Katie Shepherd, managing attorney for the CARA project, she said, "These families had finally found a little bit of safety and security after fleeing countries where they were subject to threats, extortion, assault and worse. To undertake the journey to safety was not a decision any mother would make lightly. But now they've had that security torn away from them, their children rousted from their homes and incarcerated with the threat of deportation looming."
The CARA project has been one of the leaders in providing protection to immigrants by appealing to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The appeal mostly consists of extended and emergency stays of those being held for deportation.
In a research made by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Study, despite Mexico having a thriving life expectancy for 60 years, the years 2005 and 2010 has a significant effect on that rate, dragging down life expectancy to a new low because of massive homicide crimes. This crisis eventually took a toll on their population and decreased the life expectancy of adults and young adults within the region.
Lead investigator Hiram Beltran-Sanchez said, "Our results indicate that homicides can have a large impact on the average years of life of a population. Violence in Mexico has spread throughout the entire country, so our findings suggest that homicides need to be addressed from a public health perspective."
With such a high crime rate, it is not surprising how immigrants try to flee Latin America and somehow seek and wait for their fate along the U.S.-Mexico border, even to the extent of being deported again.
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