The planeloads of undocumented children have stopped landing in San Diego, but the incredible influx of Central American migrants into the U.S. continues.
A recent U.N. Refugee Agency report found that most of the children coming to the U.S. from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are “forcibly displaced because they suffered or faced harms that indicated a potential or actual need for international protection.”
Though the threats are region-specific, most of the undocumented minors are aiming to escape violence stemming from gangs, drug cartels and poverty.
But as more children flee these dangerous conditions, local lawmakers are clashing over how to handle the refugees who have already arrived.
READ MORE: DeMaio: Send Them Back; Peters: The Law Says They Get a Chance
This week, NBC 7’s Catherine Garcia and Voice of San Diego’s Scott Lewis talk through the Central America immigration surge, highlighting the specific factors within each country that prompt children to flee.