El Paso border expert says ‘fragile economies’ help explain why migrants are fleeing home countries
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Border officials reported a 168% increase in encounters with migrant families and a 63% increase in encounters with unaccompanied children in February, according to Pew Research Center. Many of those arriving at the border are coming from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
A local border policy expert said many migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border are fleeing due to gang violence, natural disasters and Covid-19.
“There has been a series of natural disasters that are driving people out of their homes,” said Josiah Heyman, Director of UTEP’s Center for Inter-American and Border Studies. “There were two hurricanes in this past year that especially impacted Honduras, impacted all the countries, but especially Honduras and the economies of the region are very fragile anyway.”
Heyman said Covid-19 added strain to that “fragile” economy. He added many in the region might also be receiving less money from family members in the U.S.
As the U.S. sees a rise in the number of unaccompanied children at the border, Heyman points to the fact they are often more vulnerable to gang violence.
“Those young people are specifically at risk,” he said. “There they are, for example, the most likely to be threatened by gangs. They’re the victims who are fleeing because of their fear. That's not to say that there aren't adults who are being threatened. It’s a widespread problem.”
Heyman said the pandemic is also creating some backlog to the processing of migrants arriving at the border. He said the virus is creating new challenges in the way migrants are held.
