I make a trip to Central America about six times a year and I have been going there for many years; so I am pretty familiar with their problems and understand why so many are trying to immigrate to the U.S. The two big problems are government corruption and youth gangs. It is a tradition for elected officials and bureaucrats to steal funds that were intended for things like health care, education and road maintenance. However, the gangs are the greatest threat. Their game is to force young kids into their organization by threatening to kill them or their families. Their income is mainly derived from extortion of small businesses. The police exist but are almost totally uninvolved in stopping crime. The goal of responsible parents in this desperate situation is to try to get their kids away from this terrible environment. One way to do this is to try to get into the U.S.
I believe the best way our government could assist in this dilemma is to help the good people in these countries improve their education, medical services and law enforcement. If these things were improved, I am sure the people would rather stay in their homes than come to the United States.
An example of how an outside government can help is an outstanding K-12 school in Guatemala City run by the Austrian government. Some of the graduates of this school have been instrumental in the effort to improve the Guatemalan government.
Charles W. Albert
Durango
