YSIDRO, Calif. – There are many questions surrounding why thousands of Central Americans children are setting off alone and risking their lives to migrate to the United States.

One woman who made that journey wants to shine a light on the issue.

Kenia Calderon was just 11 years old when her family fled El Salvador nine years ago, after she says their neighborhood was overrun by gangs, crime and a general feeling of despair.

"The violence was horrible,” she stresses. “You know, you just didn't feel safe, and gang members would kidnap girls and force them into the gangs and make them be sex slaves."

Calderon says the economic and political situations in many Central American countries and Mexico have deteriorated because their economies have failed to produce jobs, which in turn fuels hopelessness and violence.

In El Salvador, police report so far this year the murders of children 17 and under are up 77 percent from a year ago, while a city in northwestern Honduras has the world's highest homicide rate, according to the United Nations.

Calderon rejects the notion that children are being sent to the U.S. by their parents because they think some sort of window of lax border enforcement has opened up.

She says children subjected to rampant daily violence and horrific conditions are forced to grow up very quickly.

"They're the ones making the decision, and sometimes they just tell their family, 'I'm coming, be ready for me,’ because they cannot wait for anything, for any change,” she relates. “They know that nothing's going to change that's going to better their lives."

Calderon points out the record-high number of deportations under the Obama administration is well-known in Central America, but many desperate youths still feel migration is their best hope.

She says children have actually been fleeing these countries for several years, a fact well documented by groups such as the Pew Hispanic Trust.

"A lot of Americans feel like the situation is being exaggerated, and I feel like it's because we lack a sense of curiosity,” she maintains. “I think we need to be aware a lot more of what's going on around the world, not just in the countries that benefit us."

Calderon hopes more Americans will take the time to research what is happening and why, and instead of using the situation for political gain, to look for ways to help families reunite, to treat immigrants with respect and to take a long look at U.S. policies in the region.

"I feel like we all should be looking for another solution that will help these kids, because this is a cry for help,” she says. “Something must be done, not because they want to win the next election, but because we are humans."

This story was made possible in part by the Voqal Fund.





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Providers of community IDs for North Carolina's immigrant communities say proposed legislation banning police officers and local governments from recognizing the alternative IDs as valid could have crippling effects on families.

House Bill 167 would restrict the use of cards issued to immigrants through the FaithAction ID Network. More than 15,000 residents in North Carolina and other states currently rely on FaithAction IDs.

María González, deputy director of the nonprofit group El Pueblo, said community IDs were created as a stopgap solution for individuals banned from receiving state licenses because they lack the required documentation.

"Medical care, participating in the cultural and business life of our community, getting a library card, picking up a kid from school," González outlined.

Supporters of the bill argued community-issued IDs pose security risks for communities. FaithAction explained in order to receive an ID, program participants are required to attend an orientation on the benefits and limitations of the card and sign a simple Memorandum of Understanding.

González added FaithAction IDs are designed to help people navigate daily life, and pointed out they cannot be used to vote or access federal benefits.

"We hope that there's a compassionate way that we can be reassured that our communities feel safe, are safe, that people are who they say they are," González emphasized. "But not at the expense of more vulnerable communities."

Research shows community IDs help reduce fear of interacting with law enforcement and witnesses and victims of crime are more likely to talk to police officers if they have an ID card.

Just 14% of California's 94,000 undocumented college students receive some form of state financial aid, according to a new report.

Researchers from the California Student Aid Commission found that only half of the people who are eligible for state aid for higher education even apply.

Marlene Garcia, the commission's executive director, said a lot of community college undocumented students apply to get their fees waived for coursework, but don't realize they could get a Cal Grant to help with living expenses.

Paperwork appears to be one of the issues.

"They may be applying for the College Promise, and they think that they've completed the financial aid application," said Garcia. "But then, they find out they have to complete the California Dream Act application. And sometimes, you'll lose students in that process."

Starting this year, state law requires all high school seniors to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act application, so school counselors are going to have their hands full.

Garcia said many steps could be taken at the federal level to help undocumented students, including making the Pell Grant available, or reviving the DACA program and extending its provisions to allow students to have the right to work.

"If you're an undocumented student and you don't have work authorization to get a job after you graduate from college," said Garcia, "that's going to raise the question about where the value proposition is for a college degree for you."

Another barrier is the requirement that undocumented students sign an affidavit that they attended at least three years of high school in California. A new bill now in the California Legislature would integrate that affidavit into the California Dream Act application.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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Nebraska welcomed more than 10,000 refugees between 2002 and 2016, and some are still hoping to bring family members to the U.S.

Under the Department of Homeland Security's proposed changes to the asylum application process, it could become more difficult.

They are designed to prevent a surge of migrants at the southern border once the federal health emergency ends in May, ending Title 42. They would deny entrance to anyone who lacks the proper documentation and can't meet certain expectations. Those who enter at the southern border would also need proof they applied for, and were denied, asylum in a third country they passed through.

Joe Lord, lead asylum attorney for the Immigrant Legal Center in Omaha, said it is an often untenable expectation.

"A lot of those countries don't have either an asylum system in place at all, or an effective or safe asylum system in place," Lord pointed out. "It's a complication that's not very fair to people actually fleeing danger and trying to get somewhere safe."

Lord believes the changes could lead to more family separations. He noted no consideration is given for the common case of a person coming to the U.S. alone and later petitioning for family members to join them. He added the backlog of immigration court cases in the Nebraska-Iowa region is currently 28,000, and believes the changes would make the wait even longer.

Another aspect of the changes Lord considers unrealistic is the expectation migrants will use a smartphone app to schedule an appointment with a border agent.

"A lot of people that come through the southern border have nothing when they get here, and that includes access to a smartphone," Lord stressed. "That would be a massive impediment to a lot of people applying."

The Department of Homeland Security proposal makes exceptions for people having a medical emergency, facing an imminent threat or the risk of being trafficked.

Lord pointed to the far greater effect the expectations will have on lower-income people entering through the southern border than on those who can afford to apply for a visa and fly to the U.S. He also believes the changes violate U.S. laws and treaties designed to protect people seeking asylum.

"The laws in the United States explicitly guard an asylum-seeker's right to seek protection, regardless of how they arrive here," Lord emphasized.

The proposed changes are open for public comment until March 27. Lord added he fully expects they will be challenged in court.


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