Gonzalez 1

Valerie Gonzalez

Professor Huerta

English 1T

19 March 2018

Unaccompanied Minors Matter

Can you imagine what it’s like for a child to lose their livelihood to destruction and

constant struggle? It sounds like the unimaginable to most of us, but for children in Central

America this is the harsh reality they face that has no clear end. Valeria Luiselli, a Mexican-born

writer sheds light on the stories of thousands of unaccompanied minors that enter the United

States annually, in her memoir titled ​Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions. ​In 2014,

Luiselli started working as an interpreter for the U.S. immigration system, and her duties were to

use the questionnaire she was given as a guideline of questions to ask these children and to

translate their responses to English. The children’s responses would ultimately determine

whether they would have a strong case for a lawyer to present to a jury and whether they would

be granted asylum or some form of relief. Luiselli wanted to make a difference in these

children’s lives by helping them build their cases but she began to realize that the fate of these

children lies completely in the hands of an unjust immigration system. In her memoir, she shares

her close experiences with these children, her insight, and her beliefs. I agree with Luiselli’s

argument that unaccompanied minors should be treated as refugees and should be granted

asylum or be given other options other than deportation because they are all victims of countries

that cannot protect or support them.

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One would think that the United States would accept all children that are victims of

violence with open arms but that is not the type of acceptance that is exhibited for

unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle. Here, many people that are not well

informed on the severity of violence experienced in countries like El Salvador or Honduras

would object that these children are not the United States’ problem. But how many of these

people have actually sat down and read about the violence or spoken to a refugee from these

countries? A university that specializes in public research known as George Mason University

published a paper on understanding the violence in El Salvador and it stated, “One of El

Salvador’s leading human rights organizations, affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, that

has analyzed homicides every year since 2004, has concluded that hundreds of murders were

committed by rogue police officers, private security guards and people hired to carry out social

cleansing…” (Hussain). This information shows that the crimes being committed are not only

done by gang members but also by individuals that are supposed to ensure safety and they are

often hired by criminals. The minors that are born into this mess are not provided with any sense

of safety and security. What child in their right mind decides to go on a dangerous journey across

the border with a coyote, which is basically a human smuggler, and a complete stranger to the

child? The initiative of a minor to go on this dangerous journey reflects that the dangers and

violence in their country outweigh the risks and dangers that they will most likely encounter on

their journey across the border.

I want to urge people that do not care much for this topic, specifically anti-immigrant

advocates to think, “what if these were our children?” As honorable Americans we need to

consider all the factors and facts that come into play with the surge of migration with
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unaccompanied minors, rather than viewing it as a simple inconvenience and burden for society.

Luiselli documents one of the most common responses given by children, when asked “why did

you come to the United States?” Luiselli summarizes their responses, “...the unthinkable

circumstances the children are fleeing: extreme violence, persecution and coercion by gangs,

mental and physical abuse, forced labor, neglect, abandonment” (12). No child should be

subjected to these crimes in their everyday life and there should be no border that prevents them

from escaping this violence. These children have had their backs against the wall their whole

lives and it’s about time they find the safety they deserve elsewhere. It is not right for President

Trump and his supporters to label all these unaccompanied minors as “criminals,” when they are

simply children seeking safety. It’s inexcusable to turn these children back to these violent

countries.

Furthermore, the extreme levels of poverty seen in the Northern Triangle, specifically in

El Salvador are detrimental to the youth population because there is a lack of jobs and

opportunity for the youth population to support themselves. Ultimately, this is a cry for more

than U.S. intervention in public affairs because little can be done for a country whose economy is

almost as shattered as the people who are running it. Yet some readers may challenge my view

by insisting that El Salvador’s economy and youth can be aided separately from U.S affairs.

Here, many readers, specifically Conservative Republicans may try to support this belief by

mentioning, “Fortunately, organizations like the International Fund for Agricultural

Development (IFAD) are offering help. Between 2015 and 2021, IFAD plans to invest 41 million

US dollars into El Salvador’s agriculture community” (Borgen). But evidently that support is not

enough, the youth population is struggling for survival and looking for jobs, while trying to fight
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with the odds of an unproductive economy. Luiselli supports my evidence by stating, “These

children are the most vulnerable members of an ongoing exodus of Central Americans fleeing

poverty and violence in their shattered nations in the expectation of finding a better life in the

United States” (1). If the factors contributing to poverty could be easily bypassed, we would not

be witnessing this mass migration of minors. These minors that are sometimes left completely on

their own cannot wait for their country to hand them opportunities, they are hungry and so they

flee.

Adding to the argument of poverty experienced in El Salvador, many nativists would

most likely object that jobs in the U.S. are strictly for Americans and that giving these jobs to

foreigners would take away from Americans. But these nativists forget to acknowledge that most

of these minors will be taking on jobs that Americans themselves don’t want to do. It seems

unconstitutional for anti-immigrant activists to deny the right of a minor to make a decent living

that would contribute to the U.S’ economy. These minors are not even looking to gain all the

American Dream has to offer, and they are not looking to make easy money like the gang

members in their countries do by participating in illegal activity. They are minors seeking decent

ways of supporting themselves but in most cases, they are sent back to their birth place. “That’s

horrible,” some will say. “Hopefully those people can surpass their countries issues.” Even

though it’s true that countries and their governments should be held responsible and accountable

for what fails in their economies, this does not mean the United States government should turn

their backs on these minors because they are simply trying to support themselves. These minors

have lived in extreme poverty their whole lives and their countries’ issues cannot be solved by

organizations coming in to help the crash in agriculture. For one, the improvement of agriculture
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will take some time and there is no guarantee that it’s efforts will work in favor for hard working

minors. In order to understand the issues that share a role in the poverty experienced in El

Salvador, the public has to observe the corrupt people running the economy, the economy’s

motives and even the climate issues that come into play. When all factors work against anyone,

the instinct is to move on and try something new.

Family reunification plays a significant role in migration for unaccompanied minors

because a minor can’t be expected to protect or support themselves on their own. It’s a human

characteristic to not want to be alone or feel alone, especially for minors residing in countries

that are unable to fill the void of protection and support that a parent or close relative can

provide. Because of that, having a parent or close family member in the United States is a huge

pull factor for children to migrate even though it does not guarantee that a child will be granted

asylum or some form of relief to stay in the country. Here many Conservative Republicans may

argue that the uncertainty of not knowing whether a child will be allowed to stay with a family

member or if they will be deported is justified by law. But these Republicans have failed to see

that some family is all these children have left. Researchers from Vanderbilt University stated,

“The fact that a substantial percentage of children migrate without authorization indicates that

U.S. immigration policy lacks sufficient legal means for children to reunite with their U.S.

-resident families…” (Entman). This proves that if minors were given the opportunity to reunite

with their families through a legal and permitted way that they would take that option. But sadly,

the long journey and hopes to be with a parent can be easily taken away by the immigration

system at any time.

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Overall, I don’t expect to radically alter all the views or opinions that differ from my own

but I do wish for everyone to start viewing and treating these unaccompanied minors like we

would any child born in the United States. These minors are victims and they are seeking the

United States for help and as honorable Americans, we cannot turn them away. The countries

that these children are born into cannot protect or support them and if we turn them away, we are

just as responsible as the countries that failed them initially. These children could have a real

chance for new and fulfilling lives and we cannot deny them this right. The borders and countries

that separate these children do not make them any less human or different from us, we all want

similar things from life- protection, the ability to support oneself and most importantly the

opportunity of finding happiness.

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Works Cited

“3 Major Causes of Poverty in El Salvador.” The Borgen Project, 4 Jan. 2018,

borgenproject.org/causes-of-poverty-in-el-salvador/.

“BEYOND MURDER STATISTICS: UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN GANGS, DRUG TRADE AND VIOLENCE IN EL SALVADOR.”

Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), 7 Sept. 2012,

traccc.gmu.edu/2012/02/02/beyond-murder-statistics-understanding-the-relationship-

between-gangs-drug-trade-and-violence-in-el-salvador/.

Entman, Liz. “Family Reunification Drives Child Migration from Latin America.”

Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, 20 Apr. 1970,

news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/04/20/family-reunification-drives-child-migration-from-lati

n-america/.

Luiselli, Valeria. Tell Me How It Ends - an Essay in Forty Questions. Harpercollins

Publishers, 2017.