Immigration to the United States has been an issue since the country began. People have been coming here for a variety of reasons, including political and economical. People come here seeking a better life for themselves and their families. In today’s times, the largest source of immigration for this country is from Central and South America. The author Jimenez Francisco, an immigrant from Mexico, came with his family to the United States in the 1940’s. In an article written about him, Deanna Day writes “When Francisco was four years old, his family immigrated to California for more economic and educational opportunities” (Day). The causes of immigration, both legal and illegal, to the United States from Central and South America are first, high crime rates secondly, poverty in those regions, and thirdly, higher quality of life in the United States. First, a cause for immigration to the United States is because of high crime rates. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Central America is tied with Southern Africa as the world’s most violent region (UNODC, 12). In two countries, Mexico and Venezuela, the homicide rate on a three year average has been rising (36). A large part of the violence in this reason is due to gang activity. In 2012, the homicide rate of El Salvador went down by forty percent after a truce between two gangs in the country (45). People do not want to live in a country where they feel unsafe on a regular basis. These conditions are some of the reasons why people immigrate to the United States. Secondly, poverty is also a large concern in these areas. One out of five Latin Americans live in chronic poverty, according to the World Bank study on poverty in Latin America, "Left Behind: Chronic Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean" (Vakis, Rigolini, and Luchetti). In Guatemala, fifty percent of the population lives in