In the media and in popular culture, the face of unauthorized migration is commonly that of the single male, coming to the United States to work and support his family back home. Although this image is repeated and reinforced by policy makers, popular media and politicians, in reality it is no longer the only face of unauthorized migration across our Southwest border.
Migration by adults for economic reasons has decreased dramatically in recent years. In fact, the Pew Research Center recently released a report stating that net migration from Mexico has reached 0 percent, meaning that as many people are returning to Mexico from the U.S. as are coming here. In addition, the Chief of U.S. Border Patrol recently testified before Congress that unauthorized migration has decreased 53 percent since 2008, and numbers are less than one-fifth of what they were at their peak in 2000.
But these statistics do not tell us who is coming, or why they are exposing themselves to the dangerous and harrowing journey to seek protection in the United States.
Read the full blog on the Huffington Post website.