According to International Network
for Education in Emergencies (EiE), “besides the organised youth gangs know
as maras, the violence
and criminal milieu are dominated by others, who are also mostly youngsters.
According to a survey of 1,000 gang members by the Instituto Universitario de
Opinión Pública in El Salvador, young members have an average age of 20 and a mean entry age of 15 years old.”
The youth population (ages 10-24) in El
Salvador consists of more than 30% of the population and is the main perpetrator
of violence in the country. In a study
on gang violence in the region the perpetrators of violence is concentrated to “young males aged 15-34”
(Juterrsonke, O., Muggah, R., & Rodgers, D, 2009). The MS13 (Maras) are the
predominate gang of El Salvador, however many rival gangs, that pose just as
strong a threat to the area, consume the youth population as well. Gang
activity has been a severe issue for the country since the early 1990’s, and
has grown exponentially ever since. These gangs are not only a threat to
society in their own country, but also the U.S. due to their involvement in
drug trafficking into North America; roughly 80% of drug traffic to North
America originates from these Central American countries. All of this must be taken into consideration
of the current invasion of illegal aliens crossing our border from El Salvador
as well as the Central American Triangle.
In Texas the border crisis is of grave concern due to the
increase of “Other Than Mexican” (OTM) and “unaccompanied children” (ages 0-17
also OTM) illegal entries in the 2014 fiscal year. The U.S.
Customs and Border Protection lists the Rio Grande Valley apprehensions of OTMs
from October 1, 2013 thru June 30, 2014 as a total of 154,606, with a Southwest
Border total of 202,951. Compared to 2013, the same time period, the Rio Grande
sector gained an increase
of close to 500% and the whole Southwest Border totaled a 493% increase! Unaccompanied
Children ages 0-17 comprise of 57,525 of the total, or roughly 29%. When a report
from DHS surfaced recently, a breakdown of the percentages of unaccompanied
minors (UAM) that are OTM, revealed that 47% of UAMs are male within the age range of 15-17 and 30% are male in the 10-14
age range, leaving only a remaining percentage rate of 23 for those UAMs under
the age of 10 and/or female. Given the information provided by the EiE, it is
reasonable to conclude that these male UAMs are in some form of gang, MS13 or
other, or have close connections to them, which obviously pose a huge threat to
our national, state, and private security.
The issue with UAMs is not new to our border; it has been an
ongoing issue with UAMs originating from Mexico for many years. The influx of
UAMs from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala
have been on a compounding increase since the fiscal year 2012, as displayed in
the frame below:
While in the years 2009-2011, the numbers across the board
remain relatively consistent, one can see a doubling effect take place for the
UAM numbers for OTMs beginning in 2012. It is interesting that Mexico’s numbers
remain relatively stable throughout 2009-2014, while the others increase, and
begs the question “Why?”. What happened in 2012 that would make these aliens feel
secure fleeing to the U.S., and where is the money coming from to do so? One
proponent is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),
which offers refuge for illegal minors in the U.S. with no fear of deportation,
the other is the coalition of Mexico
and Guatemala providing easy passage through their countries for migrants
from the Central Triangle. DACA provides an incentive for illegals already
residing in the U.S. to send funds and encourage family members in Central
America to come, and Mexico/Guatemala have agreed to turn a blind eye as they pass.
Another possible proponent is the El Salvadorian, Honduran,
and Guatemalan governments finding a cost effective means to purge their nations of unwanted poor
and violent contenders. These nations
are economically over-run by their “universal healthcare” a system, high poverty
rates, violent crimes by gangs, communicative and non-communicative diseases
that it seems to reason that the best way to rid them of the nuisances of the
unwanted is to influence them to migrate. El Salvadorian gang “truces”
with the government have failed miserably, and their murder rate remains around
40 per 100,000 (the U.S. is 5 per 100,000). The Salvadorian government may also
be paying the U.S. retribution (in a sense) for their gang issues, due to
resentment on behalf of their claim that the influx of gang recruitment after
the U.S. deported members in the 90’s. Honduras has been named “world’s
deadliest country” with the highest murder rate in the world and also is
responsible for 80% of the cocaine entering the U.S. It is also overrun by
gangs, the 18th Street gang for one whose beginnings trace back to
U.S. prisons as well.
The focus in the media should be on the 71% of OTMs that are
NOT minors and the government should deport them immediately! They should then
report on the cultural differences in the definition of “minor” between the
U.S. and Central American countries. Males 15 and older are not comparable to male
youths in the U.S., due to the fact that by the age of 15 in Central America
they are on their own, working a trade (or in a gang), and have been out of the
educational system (median grade completed is 6th in Central
America) most likely for 2 years. All UAMs 15 and older should immediately be
deported. It is time to focus on the real numbers and STOP exploiting the “children”
as a means to demonize the process of repatriation. It is time to stand up
against policies such as DACA and repeal their disastrous legislation.
