The truth about immigration.

• “Is rape the price to pay for the American dream?” 80 percent of Central American girls and women who cross Mexico into the U.S are raped. A lot of undocumented women are unable to report their abuse due to fear of being deported and being separated from their families, so even this disgusting number can be a bit fuzzy. When crossing the border to the United States, girls of any age are asked to trade sex for an entry to the United states by coyotes (men paid to lead groups across the border, who are known for beating and raping women), gang members, and even Border Patrol officials. Border agents have sexually assaulted, tortured, and psychologically abused foreign women. Before women cross the border, they are made aware of the circumstances that await them, so for precaution, they go on birth control and receive shots that prevent pregnancy for about a month. (x) This is an expectation. Women know that rape along the border is happening so often that they prepare for it, because they want to live a better life in the United States. Rapists can be anyone here, and Border Patrol officials take advantage of this because they know that these women can not report them without risking deportation. This issue needs to be handled immediately, as statistics of women being raped along the border are rising. (x)
• The race across the border ultimately leaves many women in poverty. While crossing the border, these women are “tricked” into prostitution. They are approached by jobs that seem to be normal, like being a waitress at a restaurant, but soon become forced prostitutes. Women crossing come to the U.S for jobs, and end up stuck in a Mexican brothel. During their stay in these brothels, they are scammed into owning the owners money for board, food, etc. And if they try to leave they are often kidnapped and killed. Underage girls are often tricked into these situations, end up pregnant, and even more in need. As you may know, brothels are violent, and the girls are beat, insulted, and forced to have sex with as many as 25 men a day. Women are often trafficked by their coyotes, who sell them to brothels when they realize the border crossing was more difficult than they anticipated, or simply would rather make profit off of selling the women. These things are happening, right on the line that divides us. (x/y)

This is what happens when women get caught

• In may of 2013, “Americans for Immigrants Justice filed Federal Tort Claims (FTCA) based on four immigrant women who were subjected to inhumane and unlawful treatment by U.S customs.” Women aged 20-36 were locked in freezing cold cells, known as “hieleras,” by CBP officers. These cells had no beds, no chairs, one single toilet, no showers or sanitary equipment, and water that tasted “like bleach” and “burned women’s throats.” The temperatures in these rooms were so cold that women’s lips chapped and split, along with their fingers and toes turning blue. The women suffered from uncontrollable shaking, and were denied blankets. Women stayed in these cells for as long as 13 days, and women with medical issues were ignored and deprived of their prescriptions while incarcerated. More than 25 women have confirmed that they have gone through this procedure. (x)

Immigration is tough, even when they make it to the USA

• In 2010, Border Patrol killed Anastasio Rojas with a taser after he was being “violent” and “threatening officials.” A few years later, a video leaked documenting 12 Border Patrol officers huddled around a man as they tasered and beat him. Rojas begs for his life, and is ignored by the laughter of Border Patrol. The death was ultimately ruled a homicide, yet no officers were charged with their participation in these events. (x)
• In 2014, Esteban Manzanares, a border patrol agent, was surrender to by an undocumented Honduran woman, her 14-year-old daughter, and another teenage girl. Instead of taking them to the station for processing, he took them to a secluded area. Manzanares raped the woman and slit her wrists. He then raped her daughter, and tried to break her neck. He kidnapped the other girl, and locked her up in his home until he ultimately killed himself. The girl was found naked and bound in his home. Some residents in the community stated “while more horrific than anything they’ve heard of,” this event is “part of a long string of abuses in their community by agents of U.S.” (x)
• Jorge Solis Palma, age 28, shot and killed by border patrol, 2010. Victor Santillian de la Cruz, age 36, shot and killed by border patrol, 2010. Sergio Adrian Hernandez-Guereca, age 15, shot by border patrol for throwing rocks at an international bridge, 2010. Roberto Perez Perez, age 63, died after being beaten in a detention center and denied care, 2011. Alex Martinez, age 30, had a mental disorder and was shot by border patrol, even though he followed orders, 2011. Amado Rodriguez, age 46, was shot by border patrol. Rodriguez has been in a wheelchair since age 17, 2011. Alexander Arthur Martin, age 34, died in car explosion caused by border patrol, 2012. These stories go on and on and on, and are still happening in 2015. Of course, due to the fact a lot of these people are undocumented, they go unreported by border patrol. (x)
• Transgender immigrants face brutal physical and sexual abuse in U.S detention centers. Hernandez-Polanco, a trans woman, faced multiple encounters of sexual abuse with male guards who would strip her and touch her inappropriately. Polanco would face abuse and sexual abuse from other inmates, too. She was held in a male facility, where the abuse was non-stop. “I came to America because I understood there were rights for transgender women, but they treated me like a man.“ According to a 2013 report, one in five confirmed sexual assault cases that occur in ICE detention centers involve transgender victims, despite the fact that trans individuals make up just 0.2 percent of the detainee population. Trans immigrant women are being thrown into male facilities and abused. (x/y)
• Women detained at an immigrant holding facility in southern Texas have repeatedly reported sexual abuse that includes removal of clothing at night in their cells for sex, and fondling them in front of others. (x) At Karnes County Residential Center alone, three male guards are responsible for regularly removing immigrant detainees them from their cells at night or early morning to engage in sexual acts. The central American women stated that the guards kissed, groped and fondled them and called them “novias,” or “girlfriends,” even in front of their children. The guards request sexual favors from the women in exchange for money or assistance with pending immigration cases. (x) This problem is so prevalent in detention centers, ESPECIALLY ones holding immigrant women for processing. They need HELP.
• This is an ongoing issue for all central American women, whose life is at a high stake for simply migrating to the U.S. FFVPF sates: “Immigrant women often suffer higher rates of battering than U.S. citizens because they may come from cultures that accept domestic violence or because they have less access to legal and social services than U.S. citizens. Additionally, immigrant batterers and victims may believe that the penalties and protections of the U.S. legal system do not apply to them.” (x) Immigrant women who attempt to flee abusive relationships have a hard time finding bilingual shelters, financial assistance, or will have the assistance of a certified interpreter in court due to lack of documentation.

The point is, immigration issues for Central American people are simply more severe than “coming here and taking jobs.” These people deserve to be helped. They are human. And the lack of compassion for these immigrants by Border Patrol, guards at detention centers, U.S citizens, and their own people is disgusting. These people are being hurt, and unable to receive help. We are not coming to America stealing the jobs of doctors and lawyers. We are coming underpaid and overworked, full of struggle and hoping to find the light.