Since last summer, national attention has shifted away from the plight of Central American youth coming to the United States to escape violence. The U-S Government says the situation at the border has improved. But the violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador has not abated. Some kids from Central America have ended up in the northwest, including Lane County.
We'll call this young man, Jose. Because of concerns for his safety, we're not using his real name. He's 15-years old and from Guatemala.
(Jose speaks in Spanish)
His attorney, Rachel Hecht, translates.
Hecht: When I was in Guatemala. I wasn’t able to stay there because I had problems with gangs…. They wanted to recruit him in the gangs…"
Jose says gang members threatened to kill him if he didn’t work for them. He finally ran away, hoping to find his older sister who had moved to the US a couple of years before.
Hecht: [translating] "So I left. I didn't tell my mother or my little brother and I just came here with the intention to be with my sister and to not be killed."
Jose's journey wasn’t easy. He travelled across Mexico on top of a train.
Hecht: [translating] "A lot of people are aware of this train. It's called The Train of the Animal. And they were on top of the train and a lot of people die taking the train."
Jose made it through Mexico to the US border. He found work but didn’t get paid and suffered beatings. Finally, desperate, Jose approached border guards and asked if they would either send him back to Guatemala or let him into the United States.
Hecht: [translating] "So I found the border with the United States. But I didn’t really realize it was the border or that they were the United States guards. I didn't really care. I just needed to get out of Mexico."
Border agents were able to locate Jose's sister in Oregon and sent him here. Attorney Raquel Hecht made the case for him to stay here because he'd been abandoned by his parents in Guatemala. His father, who'd been abusive, had disappeared. His mother can't work because of illness. An immigration judge agreed and Jose is now living with his sister and going to school in Lane County.
Hecht says Jose's story is similar to many others of kids who've escaped Guatemala. She says the police and government don't seem able to help families who are vulnerable to gang threats.
Guatemalan freelance reporter Julie Lopez recently visited Eugene for a conference on immigration. Lopez covers organized crime and immigration issues. She says poverty and a lack of infrastructure have contributed to the sway gangs have in her country.
Lopez: "A lot of people are subject to or exposed to violence because they don't have means of protecting themselves. They can't move to a neighborhood that's safer. They don't have money to hire private security. They have to ride public transportation as opposed to owning a car."
Lopez says many police are corrupt or don't have resources to enforce laws in Guatemala. She says it's up to the Guatemalan government and its people to make things better. But it's hard to do because leaders don't remain in office long enough to accomplish much.
Jose says he knows he should stay in school and get a good education but he's worried about his family in Guatemala and wants to be able to work so he can send them money.
Me: "Do you feel like you're safe here in the U.S.?"
Jose: "Si".
Si, he says. Yes.
