Safe Child Immigrant Project

When thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children arrived in North Carolina last year with a critical and immediate need for legal assistance, Legal Services of Southern Piedmont was supported by local lawyer associations, firms, private attorneys, foundations, and community members to create the Safe Child Immigrant Project to assist these children who lacked the resources to defend themselves in court and access safety from violence and abuse.

Last summer the US media exploded with the news that tens of thousands of unaccompanied Central American children, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, were arriving at the US-Mexico border. The media classified this influx as everything from a “flood” to an “invasion,” to, finally, President Obama’s “humanitarian crisis.” What everyone agreed upon, however, was that the “crisis” was, in terms of simple numbers, unprecedented, and that something had to be done.

To understand just how “unprecedented” the numbers were, we can look to the number of Central American children who arrived before 2014. In 2009 the total number of unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — together known as the “Northern Triangle”  — arriving at the US border was about 3,000. The number began to spike in 2012 when about 10,000 children were apprehended at the border. Then, in 2014, the number rose steeply to nearly 52,000 children — a 500% increase — with 2015 on track to be dramatically high as well.

The drastic increase raised the question: what is motivating these children to flee their homes and countries to come to the US? The reality emerged as these children were processed in shelters and their stories were heard: brutal abuse, violence, and poverty had driven them from their homes.

The Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

In addition to being amongst the poorest countries in Latin America, with 30% (Honduras), 26% (Guatemala), and 17% (El Salvador) of their populations surviving on less than $2 a day, Northern Triangle countries also have some of the highest murder rates in the world. Honduras, with a murder rate in 2014 of 90.4/100,000 people, tops the list, with Guatemala and El Salvador at fourth and fifth. For comparison, Detroit had a murder rate of 54.6/100,000 people in 2013 — a number that itself is 10 times the national US average. The rates of femicide and murders of youth are even greater in high gang activity areas in the Northern Triangle than the average murder rate.

In the past decade, violence has gotten increasingly worse in the Northern Triangle, due in large part to gangs that have increased in size, power, and violence. Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, and MS-18 are two of the most powerful and violent gangs, and they are present in all three countries. MS-13 and MS-18, known together as “las maras,” are now bitter rivals and in a constant struggle — some call it a war — for power and territory.

Maras reign by fear, and those in opposition are beaten, murdered, or “disappeared.” They make money by engaging in extortion, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, and more. Police in the Northern Triangle are often ineffective in stopping them and, in many cases, have been known to work alongside the gangs or accept bribes in exchange for willfully turning a blind eye to gang activity. Even when there is no corruption, gangs often threaten the lives of police and their families if they prosecute.

Children can be especially vulnerable to las maras for many reasons, including their age, accessibility, gender, and lack of an adequate caretaker. Boys in their early teens are particularly susceptible to gang recruitment; any who attempt to resist are threatened or killed simply for refusing to join. For example, “Edgar” is a 16-year-old Honduran boy who now lives in NC. At age 10, his father died, and Edgar quit school to work and support his family. At 15, las maras began to recruit him. When he resisted, they beat him and gave him the choice to leave his home or be killed. Edgar chose to leave and attempt the journey to the US.

But the danger Edgar faced did not end when he escaped the gang’s threats. The journey to the US is incredibly dangerous. Migrants have to cross several countries and are particularly exposed to robbery, rape, kidnapping, and inadequate food and water. Edgar was kidnapped in Mexico, starved and beaten for 10 days, until a family friend paid the $3,000 ransom. Now Edgar lives in NC with a cousin and is applying for asylum to gain status and remain in this country lawfully.

Edgar’s story, unfortunately, is not unique. It is a story shared by many children arriving in the US. Young girls from the Northern Triangle also face issues with gangs. Girls are targeted to be “girlfriends” of gang members, known as “mareros.” When a marero chooses a girl he likes, her options are to acquiesce or try to resist and be confronted with rape and murder.

“Maria” is 15 and from El Salvador. Last year, mareros told her she was starting to “look ready” and she was going to be theirs. One marero in particular stalked her and said she was “his.” Maria knew other girls who had resisted in the past and were violently raped or beaten. She chose to flee to the US, where her mother had fled years before after her father was murdered by a gang.

For Edgar, Maria, and so many others, the only option to stay alive without becoming involved with gangs is to flee to the US.