Migrant safety

Here is one of the more important reasons why people accept illegal immigrants. In a presidency that is less than one month old, President Biden has reassured the Dreamers that they would not be abandoned, began the difficult process of welcoming refugees, started to reunite immigrant parents separated from their children, and most importantly, refocused America on the issue of impoverished children. As many as 20,000 migrants are kidnapped every year in crossing Mexico. The abductions can be lucrative: they earn criminal gangs an estimated $50 million each year, according to the Mexican National Human Rights Commission. Kidnapping for ransom isn’t the only risk. Health professionals report that as many as six in ten migrant women and girls are raped on the journey. And activists repeatedly raise concerns that abducted women and girls are vulnerable to trafficking. The continued failure to uphold basic principles of human dignity and protection from violence is a stain on Mexico’s record. It is to nobody’s benefit except the criminals who seek to profit from human suffering. Last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said "We give a pregnancy test at DHS to every girl over 10, to provide for their medical care. That is how dangerous the journey is," she said. There is a serious disconnect between what people want to do for migrants and what is happening to the migrants.