Outside Looking In

Photo: iStock.com/AlxeyPnferov 13

By David Pavlak

As thousands of people continue to move toward the southern border of the United States, seeking to escape the increased violence in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, President Donald Trump has condemned the caravan as dangerous and infiltrated with members of MS-13, a violent street gang with origins in Central America and parts of the United States. The President’s solution has been a long-talked-about wall, constructed along the southern border. It’s an initiative he claims will stop the flow of dangerous criminals, violent gang members, and drugs, while providing added security in our most exposed regions. But how much of what is happening is true?

Dr. Jonathan Rosen, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, has studied international crime, drug trafficking, and gangs for 10 years. He’s the author of 16 books on the topics and has followed the President’s narrative closely, watching as members from the left and right fight ideologies on the topic, all in the name of national security.

Photo: Jay Soda

The Caravan

Across most major news networks throughout October, there has been a focus on the migrant caravan making its way toward the United States. President Trump has tweeted for its disbursement and signed an order to send members of the military and National Guard to join border patrol officers across parts of Texas, Arizona, and California.

This isn’t the first time migrant caravans have attempted to cross into the United States. Former President Barack Obama faced the child migrant crisis in 2014 and former President George W. Bush worked to reform the Guest Worker Program during his time in the White House. Today’s caravan, however, has a variety of reasons for its move toward the United States, with one in particular that rises above the rest, according to Rosen.

“You see some kids who are trying to reunite with family members who are here legally or illegally,” he said. “You also see some individuals who are going to apply for asylum because they’re refugees. But I think you’re seeing violence today as the biggest issue. Violence really leads people to flee, and you’re seeing young men, women, and children, the vast majority of whom are not criminals.”

"Someone's willing to risk their life, walk across a border, and pray they are accepted or can ask for refugee status."

El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, collectively named The Northern Triangle, is a hotbed of gang violence in Central America. MS-13 has strongholds in all three countries, forcing individuals to leave their homes and seek safety in another country. The journey from the Northern Triangle, through Mexico, and to the United States is extremely difficult and dangerous. Studies and investigative journalism have uncovered women being raped, individuals being murdered, and extortion tactics by local gangs who loiter in the area.

“Today, what you’re seeing particularly with the caravan, is people saying that their situation is so bad that they’re going to take the chance and roll the dice. Someone’s willing to risk their life, walk across a border, and pray they are accepted or can ask for refugee status.”

Rosen acknowledges that concrete laws are needed to create real change. Estimates for the number of unauthorized immigrants already in the United States hover around 12 million, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s January 2014 population estimate.

“You have to reform the immigration system. We’ve been debating this with Republican presidents and Democratic presidents. The question is what do you do to reform it? What Obama did was pass various executive orders, like DACA, because Congress couldn’t agree on something to pass. The problem with an executive order is that the next president can remove it. They need a law. They need Congress to agree on something. People who are fleeing violence have to wait for papers, you might need a lawyer, and you need money. It takes a lot of time.”

The Gang

Allegedly mixed in to the caravan heading toward the southern border are members of MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha, a dangerous street gang that has evolved over the years and is now known for its high levels of violence. Though the group has a large following in El Salvador, the gang was originally formed in the United States.

“Most people forget that the gang started in the 1980s in Los Angeles,” Rosen said. “MS-13 consists of individuals who fled the Salvadoran Civil War, which lasted from 1979-1992. So you had youth fleeing violence. They moved to Los Angeles, which is primarily Mexican. In addition, they spoke Spanish differently in terms of their accent and the conjugation of certain verbs. There was a lot of discrimination among youth who didn’t fit in; so they’d hang out in MacArthur Park and they formed a gang.”

The origins of the group were much tamer at the onset, but over time, have gradually turned more deadly.

“MS-13 consisted of kids who hung out, listened to rock and roll music, and their gang sign is based on rock and roll music. The gang has evolved over time and become much more violent. Now just to be considered for the privilege to join MS-13, you have to kill.”

In the 1990s, the United States began deporting many of these individuals back to Central America, where the ideology expanded, and eventually blossomed in the Northern Triangle.

“There are only 10,000 members of MS-13 in the United States. MS-13 is a violent, ruthless, brutal gang. There are around 100,000 gang members in the Northern Triangle. Yet some estimates place the number of gangs in El Salvador alone at 100,000. The reality is, I don’t think

Photo: David Pavlak

they’re a national security threat for the United States. In 2012, they were labeled by the Treasury Department as a transnational criminal organization. They are mainly involved in extortion and drug transportation, but they’re not major drug traffickers.”

Other street gangs like the Bloods and the Crips have roughly three times as many members in the United States and are just as violent. So why has MS-13 caught the ire of the U.S. Administration?

“They’ve been elevated on the security agenda to make it look like every single person that crosses the border is an MS-13 member,” Rosen admitted. “Two percent of people that cross the border are affiliated with MS-13. A majority of the people that are in MS-13 today are born in the United States and have been here. They’ve been put on the radar because of the violence they’re involved in. You never hear the Administration talk about the 18th Street Gang, which is the arch-enemy of MS-13. There are more members of the 18th Street Gang in the United States than there are MS-13.”

The Wall

One of the first promises made by then-Republican Nominee Trump was for a wall to be constructed along the southern border, an initiative he deemed pivotal to stop the flow of unauthorized immigrants, dangerous criminals, and drugs into the United States. Originally said to be paid for by Mexico, the proposed wall’s costs have been erratic, with the President himself asking for $25 billion in January, and Democratic and watch-dog agencies claiming it would be much more expensive.

Border security in the United States has always been a hot-button issue, dating back to the September 11 attacks, where the United States responded by creating the Department of Homeland Security.

However, Rosen is skeptical that a wall is a viable solution because of the United States’ global economy.

“We live in a globalized world. There is so much legal commerce between the United States and Mexico. Border security in every country is an issue but I don’t think a wall in terms of the investment is an effective way to stop everything. To me, a wall reminds me of a gated neighborhood; people feel really safe, but in reality, there’s still loopholes. You can still get around it.”

Even if the proposed wall was put into place, Rosen doesn’t see it as a deterrent for those who still wish to enter or smuggle goods in.

“Should you build a wall between the seaports? How many drugs go through the ports of Miami or Long Beach or Baltimore? Where does it end if you build this wall? You have organized criminal groups who are crafty and creative and will figure out ways to do it. It’s about meeting demand—this issue of supply and demand and criminal groups working together and diversifying their activities to include drug trafficking, organized crime, human trafficking—you find ways to do it.”

Photo: Jay Soda

The Research

Rosen’s interest peaked for international criminality when he was an undergraduate at the University of Miami. He and his colleagues and co-authors have interviewed more than 2,000 individuals across six different gangs in El Salvador. His research has focused on drugs, violence, and gangs in Central and Latin America, ex-gang member discrimination, international violence and criminality, and trends and challenges in the prison systems in the Americas.

“In the 1,200-person study that we did, the most interesting thing that I found was that in El Salvador, with MS-13 members and the 18th Street Gang and various peripheral smaller gangs, 91% had never been to the United States.”

Rosen says that for the most part, former gang members will tell you whatever you want to know about their former affiliations because they often hate the gang after they’ve successfully left—a challenge in and of itself.

“If the gang respects one thing, it is a higher power. If you’re playing around saying, ‘Oh I had this intense religious conversion’ and you’re doing it as a joke, they’ll beat you up the first time and probably kill you the second.”

His work throughout the years has made an impact on the students who take his classes. Being able to reinforce discussions with real-world examples has created an engaging learning environment.

“I think I can tell them a lot of stories through firsthand experience. I also try to broaden their vision beyond issues in the United States as there are challenges in other countries around the globe. I try to connect the dots, particularly when you look at immigration and drugs.”

The solutions to the problems aren’t easy. Reform is needed across all institutions and various countries to fix the immigration crisis, the criminal justice system, and how the US deals with gangs and violence.

“Criminal justice reform is fundamental,” Rosen said. “That would also require what I would argue, and a lot of my colleagues argue, is the need for a holistic approach. You can’t just reform one system. Reform the police in Central America, reform the institutions, the judicial system. There’s people on the left and right who think they should cut off all aid to Central America. People on the left because of human rights abuses and some on the right think it’s a waste of money; it hasn’t improved anything. Reforms can happen but they don’t happen quickly. It’s a decades long process.”