Why the caravan of 7,000 migrants is marching to the US border

A caravan of approximately 7,200 Central American immigrants is headed toward the US border, the latest instance of Central Americans fleeing unbearable conditions for the hope of building a new life in America.

The group's progress has become a major political flashpoint, earning a public statement of disapproval from President Donald Trump, who has accused them of "coming illegally to the U.S." and later threatened to dispatch US military troops to the border.

Guatemala, Honduras and El ... @ Donald J. Trump

Despite Trump's sharp response, Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suggested a coordinated response among the United States, Mexico, and Canada to solve the root of the problem with increased funding for development in Central America.

"In this way we confront the phenomenon of migration, because he who leaves his town does not leave for pleasure but out of necessity," said Lopez Obrador, pointing to the widespread institutional issues across Central America that foster corruption, violence, and poverty.

The members of the caravan mostly come from Latin America's Northern Triangle, which includes Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. This collective region is one of the most dangerous in the world, with common failures among their national systems perpetuating impossible living conditions.

Traveling tens of miles each day in sweltering heat, the caravan had reached Tapachula, Mexico by Monday, still at least 1,600 miles from the US border:

This is the second massive migrant caravan to set its sights on the US border this year. Dozens of members of the first caravan

Theyre escaping gang violence

The unmitigated violence and control that gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 orchestrate contribute to some of the world's highest homicide rates in the Northern Triangle.

Though MS-13 was formed in Los Angeles in the 1960s, its presence grew in Central America in the mid-1990s after the US deported massive rates of undocumented immigrants who had criminal records. It has since become an international organization that wields strict control within Central America.

Gangs are not only forces of violence, but also of unchecked control, often extorting vulnerable citizens including public transportation agents, small businesses, and poor families for exorbitant fees.

These groups, combined with drug cartels and criminal organizations, form an overwhelmingly powerful, and deadly, system of control.

Theyre fleeing political corruption

Violence and crime thrive under weak national legislatures and administrations that are built on legacies of corruption, which are further stressed by remarkably low tax revenues.

Deadly internal fighting among the government, citizens, and guerrilla groups persisted until the 1990s and provided a foundation for organized crime.

The Northern Triangle's current governments have been embroiled in political insecurity as recently as June, when protests following the re-election of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez left 32 dead and resulted in no charges for police or military agents.

Theyre trying to get out of poverty

Irineo Mujica, of the humanitarian aid group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, told the Associated Press on Monday that two things are responsible for the exodus: "hunger and death."

In Honduras, for example, two-thirds of people live on $2.50 a day. And the governments collect little taxes from residents, so the availability and quality of necessities like education, health care, and security are low.

Many of the people marching in the caravan have children in tow, and are trying to give their families a better life in the US.

A caravan means safety in numbers

Migrants traveling alone or in small groups along the thousands-mile long journey face the possibility of abuse and exploitation at the hands of smugglers and criminals who take advantage of particularly vulnerable immigrants, including pregnant women, minors, refugees, and asylum-seekers.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged the risks migrants face, but doubled down on the Trump administration's flat denial that members of the caravan would be admitted at the border.

"We are concerned that these migrants may be victimized by human smugglers or others who would exploit them," Pompeo said in a Sunday evening statement. "We also are deeply concerned by the violence provoked by some members of the group, as well as the apparent political motivation of some organizers of the caravan."

The caravan has become a key point of political rhetoric, as it dominates American media just over two weeks before November's midterm elections.

Why the caravan of 7,000 migrants is marching to the US border

Theyre escaping gang violence

Theyre fleeing political corruption

Theyre trying to get out of poverty

A caravan means safety in numbers

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!