Kids from Central America come seeking safety in U.S.

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1 Kids from Central America come seeking safety in U.S. By McClatchy Foreign Staff, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 660 Sixteen-year-old Wilson Coxaj of Guatemala (right) decided this month to travel alone to the United States. He's seen here with Oscar Vazquez, a 10-year-old Honduran, on June 6, 2014, at a Catholic migrant center in Arriaga, Mexico. Photo: TIm Johnson, MCT ARRIAGA, Mexico Earlier this month, 16-year-old Wilson Coxaj left his village in Guatemala. He began the long journey to the United States. He was going by himself. Since October, there's been a huge increase in children illegally crossing the border ( american emigration) into the United States. Coxaj is short and has the thick black hair of his Mayan background. He speaks with determination of his desire to travel to the U.S. He wants to find work in order to send money home to support his mother and younger brother in Guatemala. Guatamala is in Central America and borders Mexico. I am not with a coyote, he said. Coyotes are the human guides who help some people illegally cross the border. He said he's trying to find his way to the U.S. on his own.

2 Going With Coyotes Children from the northern part of Central America and from Mexico are flooding into the United States. Between Oct. 1, 2013, and May 31, about 47,017 young people illegally crossed the border, the government says. So many have come without parents that the government has set up housing for them at military bases in three states. They are Texas, Oklahoma and California. Nearly all the children cross the border at the southernmost tip of Texas. This means that they must travel through Mexico s lawless Tamaulipas state. The only way they can do this is to travel with coyotes working with crime groups. Critics are blaming Obama. They say that his government isn't trying hard enough to stop the kids from getting across the borders. They also say the children are coming because they hope the laws will change and will be able to stay. But the kids' reasons may be more complicated. Many of them are trying to escape violence in Central America. Many also want to join a parent already in the United States. Dangerous Countries For Kids Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are some of the world's most dangerous countries. The Mara Salvatrucha gang wanted him to join them to sell drugs, said William Alberto Molina. He left San Salvador last year at age 17. His only choice was to leave the country or join a gang. Violence in Central America is pushing these kids out, said Wendy Young. She is the head of Kids in Need of Defense. Young said that younger children are crossing the border on their own. More of the kids are under age 12. The number of girls is also rising. The Reverend Alejandro Solalinde is a Catholic priest. He is perhaps Mexico s best known supporter of immigrants. He said that when teens take off from Central America, they "band together with others from their hometowns. Nobody protects them. "Traveling With Their Mothers" But shelter workers say that many children aren't really without adults. What has increased are children aged 10 to 12 who are traveling with their mothers, said Rene Vigne. He works at a shelter in Ixtepec, Mexico.

3 He doesn't believe reports that so many children are crossing into the United States alone. But an official from Central America said many of the children travel in groups. They stay away from shelters. He said few of them are like Wilson Coxaj. The 16-year-old is all alone on his journey. Most are in groups with an adult. These kids aren t alone. They go accompanied by someone, he said. Looking For A Better Job For his part, Coxaj said he wants to find work in the United States. His goal is to send money back to his single mother and little brother. He doesn't know where he will end up. He knows the names of only two cities New York City and Los Angeles. Yet he is sure that he ll find a better job than he could at home. For a factory job in Guatemala, people need school certificates, he said. I only completed second grade. So it s difficult for me to get those jobs.

4 Quiz 1 The U.S. government is setting up housing facilities for children traveling to the U.S. in all the following places EXCEPT: Texas Oklahoma California New York 2 According to a Mexican shelter worker, there has been an increase in the number of: kids aged 16 traveling with coyotes kids under 12 traveling to find a job kids aged traveling with their mothers kids under 12 traveling through Mexico 3 Select the paragraph from "Dangerous Countries For Kids" that shows that kids are forced to join a gang in Central America. 4 How did Wilson Coxaj cross the border to reach the United States? with a group from his village with the help of a coyote with a family member on his own

5 Answer Key 1 The U.S. government is setting up housing facilities for children traveling to the U.S. in all the following places EXCEPT: Texas Oklahoma California New York 2 According to a Mexican shelter worker, there has been an increase in the number of: kids aged 16 traveling with coyotes kids under 12 traveling to find a job kids aged traveling with their mothers kids under 12 traveling through Mexico 3 Select the paragraph from "Dangerous Countries For Kids" that shows that kids are forced to join a gang in Central America. Paragraph 9: The Mara Salvatrucha gang wanted him to join them to sell drugs, said William Alberto Molina. He left San Salvador last year at age 17. His only choice was to leave the country or join a gang. 4 How did Wilson Coxaj cross the border to reach the United States? with a group from his village with the help of a coyote with a family member on his own