The number of migrants attempting to cross the southern border into the United States has soared within the last year, even with President Trump implementing various strategies to deter them.
Border Patrol agents detained nearly twice as many migrants in the first five months of the fiscal year that started in October than were detained in the same period the previous year, the New York Times reports. Author Miriam Jordan dives into why this number is on the rise after so many attempts to combat illegal immigration.
Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. used to be overwhelmingly made up of single men from Mexico who sought work to be able to send money home. But as Miriam writes, immigration from Mexico has plummeted and it is now Central American families who have become the new face of illegal immigration.
Many Central American families report they live in fear of crime in places like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, and want to protect their children from being recruited by street gangs.
These migrant families also know that if they travel with a child, they are unlikely to remain detained at the border and have a better chance of fending off deportation.
Several other factors are responsible for the rise of migrant families attempting to enter the U.S.- read them here.
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