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Gangs are criminal groups that are involved in illegal activities. They have a long history inside the U.S and in other countries. Some more serious than others like petty theft, vandalism, graffiti, assaults, robbery to extortion, rape, money laundering, prostitution, or murder.

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How does this issue effect us in the US? // Media Coverage

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How does this issue effect us in the US? // Media Coverage

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With the sudden increase of refugees coming into notice because of gangs, a lot of them will obviously be traveling up north. So many people are fearing for their lives,  But with trumps new laws, a lot of them simply feel a lot safer living in refugee camps in Mexico. The thing is that the United States have a lot to offer. "Since Trump took office in the U.S., we've been hearing a lot of people say it's just safer for them to stay here in Mexico than go to the U.S.," says Kahn from a radio station interview with reporter Catarin Ramirez. Kahn also saying things such as how gangs forced her to work by selling and taking her profit or else. Trump isn't allowing innocent people to come in and have a regular life, and if he does, its extremely difficult, so it'll lead to just more people trying even more because they know the possibilities they could get.

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In Mexico, the number of refugees, mostly from Central America, has doubled in the last year, pointing to evidence that many aren't trying to get to the U.S. anymore. NPR takes a look at if Trump's presidency is having an effect.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

We're going to go now to a refugee shelter in Mexico with NPR's Carrie Kahn. The majority of refugees in Mexico are Central Americans who are fleeing violence in their home countries, and the numbers have spiked recently. Many refugees say they're staying in Mexico because they don't want to attempt the dangerous trek to the U.S., or, as Carrie tells us, they fear deportation under the Trump administration.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: The indoor patio of the CAFEMIN shelter run by an order of Catholic nuns in Mexico City is packed.

(SOUNDBITE OF XYLOPHONE BEING PLAYED)

KAHN: A young girl plays a well-worn xylophone toy while her mom and sister rest on thin floor mats alongside more than 80 other refugees. The shelter is at more than double its normal capacity. Rita Flores and her 6-year-old daughter got here about a month ago, fleeing from Honduras.

RITA FLORES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "The gangs tried to make me work for them," Flores says. She told them no, but she says they started demanding half her weekly earnings. She sold sandals out of her house. Then she says they told her she would also have to sell marijuana. When she refused, they came after her.

FLORES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "They came to my house, but when they didn't find me, they got in a fight with my brothers. They shot one of them dead," says Flores. Another time when they came looking for her, she says they killed a neighbor. Flores, who was 27, says she had to run. She and her daughter were picked up by Mexican authorities after crossing into the country illegally. She says guards at a detention facility told her she should apply for refugee status, and she did.

CINTHIA PEREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Cinthia Perez, a director COMAR, says the governmental refugee agency is doing a much better job identifying migrants in need. She says that's part of the reason the number of refugees has skyrocketed in recent years. Last year, nearly 9,000 migrants sought refugee protection in Mexico, a more than 60 percent increase over 2015 figures which had already jumped nearly 40 percent over 2014 numbers.

PEREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: She says, "we haven't seen this steady of a rise in refugees since the 1980s when Guatemalans were pouring over the border, fleeing their country's brutal civil war."

But it's not just better information and public service announcements driving the numbers up, says Catarin Ramirez, an attorney at the CAFEMIN refugee center.

CATARIN RAMIREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "Since Trump took office in the U.S., we've been hearing a lot of people say it's just safer for them to stay here in Mexico than go to the U.S.," she says. The rise in Mexican applications coincides with the dramatic drop in the first three months of this year in the number of apprehensions at the U.S. southern border. While many credit Trump's tough immigration talk for the drop in the number of border crossers and refugees heading to the U.S., it's not deterring everyone. Twenty-three-year-old Milton Figueroa of El Salvador says he's going to leave the shelter soon and head for the U.S.

MILTON FIGUEROA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "I have a lot of friends in the U.S., and they tell me it's always been difficult." He says, "they say you just have to hide, but you will find work."

(SOUNDBITE OF HAMMERING)

KAHN: With the violence in Central America not abating, the shelter here in Mexico City is bracing for even more refugees. It's building a new wing that will house up to 200. Rita Flores, the mother from Honduras, says she would like to go to the U.S. Her husband and other daughter are there. But she's terrified of being sent back home.

FLORES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "I keep hearing that Trump is deporting all these people. I'll just stay here," she says. "At least I'm safe."

Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Mexico City.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALOE BLACC'S "WITH MY FRIENDS - INSTRUMENTAL")

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Central American Refugees Opt To Stay In Mexico Due To Trump's Policies

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In Mexico, the number of refugees, mostly from Central America, has doubled in the last year, pointing to evidence that many aren't trying to get to the U.S. anymore. NPR takes a look at if Trump's presidency is having an effect.

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-Gangs have a long history inside the U.S and in other countries. These criminal groups are involved in illegal activities such as extortion, money laundering, prostitution, theft, gambling, and causing trouble.
-During the 1970's and 1980's, gang violence became a lot more influential due to guns and other weapons becoming a lot more available  to the public.

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This map is showing Central Americas homicide hot spots. Why are we showing homicide hot spots when were talking about gangs? Well, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are ranked between the most violent countries the world that aren't at war due to gang related violence.

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How is gang violence affecting and spreading into even our own daily life? 

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How is gang violence affecting and spreading into even our own daily life? 

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Gang Violence has been effecting people from a day to day lifestyle. A personal experience I'd like to share is of one of my own. I had a cousin of mine (name is Jose Manuel Lopez) back in 2010 who was shot at by a van passing by, walking to the store from his house with his sister. He died at the scene at the age of 15, a freshman in high school. When police came and investigated, they had also reported to know that area as very heavy when it came to gang activity. The man or men who killed my cousin has not been caught, but if it weren't for that relation of gangs for all we know he could be alive today.

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The 15-year-old South San Francisco resident shot and killed Tuesday night was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner's Office on Wednesday as Jose Manuel Lopez.

Police say he was shot at least twice while walking with a friend, who wasn't hurt, in the 800 block of Hickory Place about 7:30 p.m. by someone who jumped out of a silver minivan with tinted windows.

Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy is scheduled for today, said coroner Robert Foucrault.

Police have not made any arrests.

A crowd of family and friends Wednesday afternoon gathered at Lopez's house, which is just a few blocks from the crime scene. A woman who answered the door said the family was not ready to speak about the teen.

Lopez family friend Rick Prado said the 15-year-old was walking to the store when he was shot. Prado shook his head while standing in front of a street memorial to the teen at the corner of Linden and Aspen avenues Wednesday afternoon.

"This kid didn't deserve to die," he said as he looked at the collection of prayer candles and messages from friends. "It's not right for a kid to die that way."

Prado said Lopez was a student at South San Francisco High School and was a skilled soccer player.

Just up the street from the memorial, a group of mourners, many dressed in black, hooded sweatshirts, stood at the site where Lopez was gunned down.

They declined to speak to reporters. At one point, four police cars blocked the entrance to the narrow street, and officers spoke briefly with one of the men.

Prado said he has noticed extra police in the neighborhood since the shooting.

The slaying is the second in that area in recent weeks. Ronald Figueroa, 29, was shot to death in the 300 block of Lux Avenue, about .3 miles away, on March 23.

Investigators are looking into whether the crimes are related, said South San Francisco police Lt. Alan Normandy. He added that there is a significant gang presence in the area.

"The information has not been coming quickly or clearly," Normandy said. "We're getting lots of bits and pieces."

Anyone with information about the slaying is asked to call South San Francisco police at 650-877-8900.

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South San Francisco teen homicide victim identified

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The 15-year-old South San Francisco resident shot and killed Tuesday night was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner's Office on Wednesday as Jose Manuel Lopez. Police say he was shot at least twice while walking with a friend, who wasn't hurt, in the 800 block of Hickory Place about 7:30 p.m.

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International Aid// How can YOU get involved 

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International Aid// How can YOU get involved 

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A website that helps out other could be the community of Carecen. Carecens purpose is to help immigrants from Central America get legal services from things such as TPS (Temporary Protective Status),  DACA (Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals) and SIJS (special immigrant juvenile status). They also help with immigration benefits // legal relief.
How you could help? You can go into the website and donate money to the foundation as well as send volunteer or even get an Internship with them as a Classroom assistant for a class for them to learn English as a second language. As mills students, our school comes inn a variety of types of people, in which all of our people in time have suffered. Now its our turn to help Latinos, as reference we know how refugees in Afghanistan are feeling, so we have a sense of what could be going on in the lives of these Central Americans. Donating just a few dollars can really make a difference in their lives and help them get through. They are people just like you and me.

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Why would anyone ever want to join a gang?

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Why would anyone ever want to join a gang?

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According to Gale's  sources, teenagers generally join gangs because of its "attractive" lifestyle. It gives them a sense of belonging, offers respect, different social opportunities, protection, excitement, and money.  But respect? How? They don't do anything good to earn peoples respect. The only respect they get is out of fear and intimidation.
Gangs offer excitement through risky behaviors such as illegal activities and generally going against the rules. Many of them believe that gangs offer protection but they really don't, they actually cause more violence. Gangs lead to destructive behavior that are usually life altering and deliver excitement.

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The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its rival, the “18th Street” gangs both started out as street gangs in LA, but eventually made their way to Central America where they have a large presence. MS - 13 are primarily mostly Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Guatemalans.
18th Street, or Mara-18 is multi ethnic, mainly Mexicans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans  and other Latin Americans (Central Americans).

Central Americas hope so strive slowly seeming impossible without any outside interference of the international community. Those who have absolute no connections with gangs also face its social effects. They are forced to live along the same violence that gangs experience daily with no choice.

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"Gang Violence." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2017.
"Adolescents Join Gangs for a Sense of Social Belonging." Gale. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2017.
Violent Central American Gang Appears in San Bruno. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2017.
Kahn, Carrie. "Central American Refugees Opt To Stay In Mexico Due To Trump's Policies." Central American Refugees Opt To Stay In Mexico Due To Trump's Policies Listen· 3:54. NPR, 02 May 2017. Web. 22 May 2017.

Gangs in Central America. Web.23 May 2017
AmerQuarterly. "Central America Is As Violent As Ever. What Would It Take To Change?" Americas Quarterly. Web. 23 May 2017
"Central America's Violent Northern Triangle" Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations. Web 23 May 2017
"Gang Violence in Central America Is a Humanitarian Crisis." IRIN.02 Sept.2016. Web. 23 May 2017
"Mafia of the Poor: Gang Violence and Extortion in Central America." Crisis Group. 20 Apr. 2017. Web 23 May 2017.

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Gangs have been a rising activity and have been affecting peoples everyday life in countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. According to The New York Times in an Article called "Fleeing Gangs, Central American surge towards U.S" by Kirk Semple talks about a man named Alberto who's family is being threatened to hand over their kids to a gang that had come to town, and if they couldn't pull through, they'd be killed. Scared, him and his family flee to the north to Mexico with whatever they could carry. Although Alberto isn't the only family that is running away from all this violence, this in general according to Perrine Leclerc ( The United Nations head of field at a refugee agency in Tapachula) says it is a "refugee crisis". Many family's just like Alberto's are desperately trying to escape and are now living in refugee camps.

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Despite American-backed efforts to tighten regional borders and address the root causes of the exodus, American and international officials say the migration numbers have soared in the past year.

"It's really a refugee crisis," said Perrine Leclerc, the head of the field office for the United Nations refugee agency in Tapachula.

In the 2016 fiscal year, which ended in September, nearly 409,000 migrants were caught trying to cross the southwestern border of the United States illegally, a 23 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, according to statistics released by the Obama administration. Officials said the increase reflected the growing number of people heading north, not any sweeping changes in enforcement.

The trend continued through October, according to figures released Thursday by American immigration officials: More than 46,000 people were caught last month on the southwestern border, up from about 39,500 in September.

The recent flow has been particularly notable for the unusual number of Central American migrants traveling in family groups. In the most recent fiscal year, about 77,700 migrants caught on the southwestern American border were traveling in families, nearly twice as many as were detained in families the previous year. About 91 percent of all those migrants were from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, a region known as the Northern Triangle.

As part of his presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump promised an unforgiving approach to illegal immigration, including building a wall along the border with Mexico and stepping up deportations beyond even President Obama's record removal rates. Now, among the array of immigration challenges he will face upon taking office, Mr. Trump will have to contend with this surge of migrants, an issue that has overwhelmed not only American border officials but also governments throughout the region.

Some American officials have floated the theory that families may be migrating together in the hope that adults will have a better chance of avoiding detention in the United States if they try to enter with children.

But interviews with migrants and their advocates suggest that families are fleeing - sometimes in groups of as many as 15 people - because they have no alternative. Gangs in certain communities in the Northern Triangle have become so merciless, and their control so widespread, that a family is often left with a stark choice: Comply, flee or die.

"Today the violence is widespread, and because it's widespread, it's affecting the whole family," said Diego Lorente, the director of the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center in Tapachula.

Almost all of the migrants said they had once had no intention of ever leaving their countries.

Alberto said he had a thriving business breeding livestock and dogs. His wife ran a food stand. Their youngest children were on track to attend college, he said. They were active members of their church.

The family first fled in 2013 to northern El Salvador, where Alberto rebuilt his business and the children returned to school. But the gang members tracked them down, forcing them to move two more times, he said. They finally fled the country in March.

While staying at a migrant shelter run by the Catholic Church in southern Mexico, a nun told them about Mexico's asylum program. They applied and are now waiting for their claim to be adjudicated.

"What can I say?" Alberto said with a sigh. "This is the horrible reality that our country is living now."

As the violence and impunity have soared in the Northern Triangle, so has the number of asylum claims from those countries, according to the United Nations. Nearly half of those asylum seekers this year have sought sanctuary in the United States. But migrants are increasingly viewing other countries in the region, including Belize, Costa Rica and especially Mexico, as asylum destinations.

Under international pressure, the Mexican government has been expanding its capacity to receive refugees. Its acceptance rate for completed applications increased to about 62 percent in the first six months of this year, from about 45 percent in 2015.

United Nations officials and migrants' advocates here believe that of the hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants who crossed into Mexico last year, as many as half may have qualified for refugee protection. Yet only about 3,400 people applied for asylum in Mexico, according to government figures. By comparison, nearly 177,000 Central Americans were deported by Mexican immigration authorities last year.

The migrant shelters here in Tapachula are full, and advocates are struggling to accommodate the growing number of families that find their way here, either as a pit stop on their journey to the United States or as a place to file for asylum.

"Tapachula is the first place that they arrive where they have a perception of security," Mr. Lorente said.

The migrants tell of grisly murders, of how gangs have recruited boys as lookouts and drug runners and forced girls into becoming their brides. They speak of "war taxes," sometimes amounting to half of their earnings. Noncompliance is met with death.

"It's butchery," Ms. Leclerc said.

Entire neighborhoods have fallen under the control of gangs, which are abetted by corrupt officials on their payrolls. Several migrants said they had not reported crimes to the police, fearing that the police would inform the gangs.

Most said they had left their homes with no understanding, or even awareness, of asylum protections in other countries, only a determination to find a safer place to live.

Fatima, 19, said she had fled El Salvador after gang members killed her husband, an apprentice auto mechanic, and threatened her, too. Traveling with her 2-year-old son and two close relatives, she was hoping to reach the home of her late husband's parents in the Mexican state of Puebla.

The women knew nothing about asylum protections in the region. So when immigration officials caught them, they did not know they could present their case, they said, and the immigration officials never asked why they were migrating.

The women said they and their children had been deported back to El Salvador, but immediately headed back to Mexico. They were captured again. But this time, Fatima said, she spotted United Nations posters on the wall advertising the Mexican asylum program.

"It was never in my thinking to leave my country," she said at a migrant shelter in Mexico City.

Fatima said she hoped to remain in Mexico and had not considered trying to move to the United States. But according to some migrants' advocates, the goal for most Central American migrants is to eventually make it "farther north," a phrase common among migrants. Even many of those applying for asylum in Mexico view refugee status as a stopgap allowing them to travel to the northern border without harassment by the Mexican authorities.

"It's the superbest country," Juan, a Honduran migrant, said of the United States. He has applied for refugee status in Mexico, along with his wife and two small daughters, but he hopes to reach America. He said they had fled Honduras after gang members threatened to kill him if he did not join their operation.

"You don't migrate now in search of the American dream," he said. "You go for your life."

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Fleeing Gangs, Central American Families Surge Toward U.S.

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Despite American-backed efforts to tighten regional borders and address the root causes of the exodus, American and international officials say the migration numbers have soared in the past year. "It's really a refugee crisis," said Perrine Leclerc, the head of the field office for the United Nations refugee agency in Tapachula.

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The only major contributor to this problem may be ECHO. It is a direct flow of money that goes to supporting refugees. This does not really help solve the problem, but helps the people suffering by it. Many people can not berth amount of chaos and tragedies and are forced to leave their countries. In hopes of living a better life, they risk deportation. They could be sent back to their native nation if they were to get caught with non- legal documentation. In 2015, nearly 177,000 Central Americans were deported for illegal documentation. (Renwick). ECHO is working together with a refugee agency in the UN to help displaced populations in El Salvador. In Honduras, they Norwegian Red Cross are helping to make school safety and children less vulnerable to gang recruitment.

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Now that we have thoroughly researched the topic of gang violence in Central America, I believe that there is not a solution. How come? Because the impact of gang violence is just too strong in Central America to improve their future. There will always be rival gangs with tension. I definitely think differently about the topic now because I realized how the civilians living in the Northern Triangle countries are greatly impacted. Parents just want the best for their kids, and the way to do this would be to shelter them in a better environment. And of course, the best environment where everything prospers is here, in the US. But these families coming here with hope are usually deported and never get the chance to experience something out of the cycle of violence they are consistent surrounded by.