Over 60,000 unaccompanied, Central American minors came through the U.S. unlawfully in 2014. This year, that number will double. To escape murder and violence, these children undertake a journey that jeopardizes their safety and livelihoods.
This trend is called the child immigration crisis, and the U.S. Government needs to do more to stop it. Refugee visas are too limited and can't account for the over 120,000 children that need our help.
Washington must address the issue at the root by supplying developmental aid to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras (the murder capital of the world) to help rebuild institutions, eradicate drug production, and expand social protection with a plan similar to Plan Colombia in the late 1990s, which helped Colombia undergo an extraordinary turnaround.