U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday launched a new series of Spanish-language videos in which Central American migrants share their harrowing stories of their journey to the United States, in an effort to deter people from trying to make the journey.
The first video features a Central American woman who left her country and her family to reach the U.S.
“You suffer a lot, you encounter people that try to sexually abuse you,” the woman said. “Sometimes you travel in tractor-trailer boxes, unable to breathe. At the end of it all, nothing was like they say it would be.”
“She is an anonymous voice, one of thousands of Central American migrants, including unaccompanied children, who in recent years have endured a myriad of atrocities, sexual abuse, extortion, assault, kidnapping and exploitation in the hands of coyotes or human smugglers,” said CBP spokesperson Jaime Ruiz.
The video series was launched just as border agents are preparing for a potential flood of border crossings. Border crossing by unaccompanied children and family units is up sharply from last year, and are close to the levels seen in 2014 that sparked a crisis.
Total apprehensions through April are down just 9 percent from 2014 levels, and up about 75 percent from 2015.
CBP also said it would expanding its Border Safety Initiative program to states like California, Texas, Florida and New York. The initiative aims to warn people about the dangers of trying to cross the border, especially during the summer months, which can lead to injury and death.
“More than 6,100 migrants have tragically lost their lives in recent years from exposure to the unforgiving elements, suffering heat stroke, dehydration, hyperthermia, and drowning in canals, ditches, and the Rio Grande,” CBP said. “Others have fallen victim to criminals and drug smugglers.”
The program is also aimed at deploying emergency personnel and equipment to areas where people need help, as well as preventing migrants from being taken by human smugglers.
