Leslie Vasquez- Central American Immigrants Accused of Having Ties to Gangs they are Trying to Flee From

Over the past few months, many families from Latin America have been trying to flee from violence in their home countries to seek asylum in the United States, only to be separated by their families. Some families, specifically those from Central America, have been separated due to accusations of having ties to the international gang MS-13. The U.S. is trying to prevent any type of gang influence from entering its borders, yet many of these families are desperately trying to get away from gang violence. This has caused much debate on who can be allowed in and who must be deported for these accusations.

Being part of a Salvadoran family, I understand how these families must feel. Everyday is a matter of "Am I able to leave the house or should I stay in so I don't get murdered?" This is a sad reality for most people in Central America, especially Honduras and El Salvador. To deny refuge to those who can literally be murdered at any given time in their home countries is not humane. Immigration in present-day is a very controversial topic due to stereotypes of Latinos being lazy, uneducated, and that they only enact violence. President Trump "promised" to reunite the separated families by July 26. Obviously, that did not happen. If our country keeps refusing to act on very serious matters like this, there will not be a country to be made "great" again.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/accused-of-ms-13-and-other-gang-ties-separated-parents-struggle-to-get-their-kids-back/2018/09/10/989db652-abda-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html?utm_term=.580b01ea6561