Pimping Central America
Corey J.Quebedeaux
CJS23/Criminology
January 26, 2015
Kenneth Bitting

Pimping Central America
Imagine living in conditions so consumed with poverty that you are forced to risk your life to flee to another country in hopes to take care of your family. Hoping and praying to find “under the table” jobs such as roofing, gardening, grounds maintenance, cleaning houses and/or agricultural work. Central American’s do this on a daily and nightly basis; combing through the desert heats during the summer and its vicious coldness in the winter in hopes of a brighter future. Some get lucky and others either get caught and deported back to Mexico or, worse yet, trafficked and sold into a life of servitude (slavery).
“Although it’s the 14th largest economy in the world, rural Mexico is still very unequal. Depending on the measure, between one-third and one-half of Mexicans live in poverty and up to 18 percent live in extreme poverty, unable to meet their basic food needs.” ("Bread For The World Institute", 2011). In this paper I will discuss death rates, risks and benefits (to include programs) of crossing through the desert for an undetermined future in the United States of America. I will also focus on the trafficking and prostitution rings between the United States and Central America. By the end of this paper I will have explained how and why these issues of Central American’s immigrating into the United States meet the specifications of the Social Structure Theory because of the poverty disturbance in their system. * Understanding the Social Structure Theory Moffitt (2015), “Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was an English philosopher. Spencer compared society to a human body. In the same way each part of the body works in harmony with other parts, each part of society works in harmony with all other parts. If we want to understand the importance of the heart for helping the body function properly, we need to understand how it relates to other parts of the body. Similarly, if we analyze the functions of some aspect of society, such as education, we can learn how it impacts the other parts of the system. Functionalists emphasize that order and balance are the normal state of society - and a disruption in one part of the system will certainly disrupt other parts.” (para. Herbert Spencer). The disruptions that will be discussed are how the climate, traffickers and border patrol hinder and/or exploit illegal immigrants from succeeding on their journey to join the ranks of employment in the United States in order to free themselves and their families from living in poverty. * Crossing the desert
McIntyre (2015), “The trek from Mexico into Arizona’s eastern stretches can be dangerous even for experienced hikers prepared with water, food and layers of clothing. But for many immigrants crossing the border illegally, oftentimes lacking such necessities and putting blind faith in a coyote, or guide, it can prove deadly.
Since 2001, more than 2,100 migrants have perished beneath the Arizona sun.” (Death in the desert: The dangerous trek between Mexico and Arizona). Since Operation Guardian, where in 1994 the United States officially decided to step up their surveillance and expand the border wall between one third of the 1,988 miles between the United States and Mexico in attempt to discourage immigration, most immigrants try their luck at the unforgiving stretches of desert land between Sonora, Mexico and Arizona. ("Bbc News", 2014) In the summer time the desert heat exceeds 104 degrees and in the winter the temperatures drop to below freezing. The immigrants weigh the risk and more than not they decide that the risk are worth the trip due to the poverty stricken lives they were already living. “CRREDA is the Centro de Rehabilitacion y Recuperacion para Enfermos de Drogadiccion y Alcoholismo. In English it means Center for Rehabilitation and Recuperation for Patients of Drug Addiction and Alcoholism.” (Shacat, 2008, para. 2). CRREDA, which also leaves water in the desert for those making that dangerous trek, reach out an educate those on the journey of the dangers of the desert. (Films Media Group, 2009). Although CRREDA can only offer education, temporary shelter, supplies and prayer many opt to continue the journey. * Smuggling versus trafficking
According to "Latino USA" (2014), “According to ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – human smugglers are not the same as human traffickers. Human smuggling involves the voluntary intention to get yourself smuggled across international borders, and a smuggler or coyote, is your facilitator. Human trafficking, on the other hand, is the transportation of people with the purpose of selling them or exploiting them in forced prostitution and other forms of labor. In trafficking, people are usually held against their consent.” (Coyotes: The Smugglers That Bring Kids To The Border).
Coyotes, the smugglers and/or organizers, are usually paid to transport or orange transportation for illegal immigrants into the United States. It is still a gamble because border patrol officers are trained to recognize many of the signs of human smuggling. Once the border patrol catches the people attempting to come into the United States illegally they detain them and deport them back across the Mexican border, where many try to find other ways to get into the United States at later times. Desperate women sell their bodies at night clubs and brothels along the routes they take to seek work in the United States, some who have their trip cut short due to disease and/or AIDS. (Films Media Group, 2009).
When it comes to human trafficking, it is all too familiar that the parents, under false pretenses, or someone that has become close to the victim’s family, posing as a friend, set up the arrangements. Usually young girls, as young as thirteen, are sold off to live lives of prostitution. Many times, the young girls do not know what they are getting into and or conned into the life of servitude. The young girls are shipped to the United States much like those who are being smuggled, stripped of all identification and are kept inside away from the public eye. When they are allowed outside it is under strict supervision and there are potential serious reprecusions if they are even or believed to attempt or plan an escape. The women are told that if they venture out or seek help that the police will take them, abuse them and then deport them so the slave owner can maintain control through fear. (Films Media Group, 2009).
C.A.S.T., the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, was one of the first organizations in the United States to provide services to victims of trafficking, as such. C.A.S.T.'s activities are interconnected by a client-centered approach that seeks to empower trafficked persons to fully realize their individual potential while advancing the human rights of all trafficked persons. ("Academy For Educational Development", 2006). C.A.S.T. takes the young women out of slavery through legal means, gives them shelter and explains that they under protection from the being arrested and educated that they have been lied too about the police. (Films Media Group, 2009). According to "Alliance To End Slavery And Trafficking" (2014), “In the beginning of the 21st century, at least 700,000 people were reported as victims of international trafficking each year, 14,500–17,500 of which are women and children who are trafficked specifically into the United States.“ (Summary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and Reauthorizations). “Since the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was passed in 2000, more than 1000 victims of trafficking have been rescued. More than 200 traffickers have been convicted.” (Films Media Group, 2009). * Poverty and the need for work
“If numbers do not lie, Mexico is in trouble. According to a new study by the Mexican Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL, from its acronym in Spanish), 53.5 million Mexicans were living under the poverty line in 2012, half a million more than in 2010. And not only that, but another 40 percent are in risk of crossing the line. In spite of the increase in absolute figures, the percentage of people in poverty dropped from 46.1 percent in 2010, to 45.5 last year.” (Mallén, 2013). This disturbance in the Mexico’s society, infecting nearly half its population, is the primary reason so many immigrants, some successful, some returned to Mexico and some dead, take the risk to come to America.
From those that have made it there are approximately 6.3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States labor force. These positions are represented by one in five roofers, one in five construction workers, one in four grounds maintenance workers, one in five maids and/or housekeepers and one in five agricultural workers. (Films Media Group, 2009).
Coffee is Central America’s number one export and many families depend on that income. Unfortunately Central America was hit with rust fungus, a.k.a. "la roya." “Its spores, which can devastate entire coffee farms, forced Sri Lanka to uproot all its coffee trees in the 1860s and start growing tea. Today, climate conditions have accelerated the fungus' growth in Central America, uprooting farmers and fueling a wave of immigration to the U.S. (Drapkin, 2014). * Hope for salvation
Through all the turmoil Mexico has found hope to pull away from poverty. The Hero came in the form of “Just Coffee.” The Just Coffee Cooperative is a worker-owned coffee roaster dedicated to creating and expanding a model of trade based on transparency, equality, and human dignity. They strive to build long-term relationships with small-scale coffee growers to bring people a truly incredible cup of coffee. They partner with expert small-scale farmers and their coffee cooperatives throughout the world. They work above and beyond the fair trade minimum standards to build relationships between farmers, their co-op and their customers and community. Through their partners Outside the Bean and On the Ground they work to have an impact in farming communities that goes beyond the buying and selling of coffee, which works to fund community development projects in coffee communities. ("Just Coffee Cooperative", 2015).
“The first Café Justo (formerly Just Coffee) cooperative was formed in 2002 by members of the Lily of the Valley Church in Agua Prieta. Our first pound of coffee was roasted, ground, packaged, and sold to market that year.
We have since teamed with cooperatives across Mexico eager to pursue a new model, not just for growing coffee, but for roasting, marketing, and selling the beans as well. Doing so has revitalized rural communities and has kept families together. We have been joined by partner congregations across the United States who are striving to make a positive impact on both sides of the border.” (Frontera de Cristo, 2015)
The efforts of the Just Coffee Cooperative and Café Justo have rescued the coffee growing communities from poverty. Other areas are tackling the poverty issues through higher education standards and allowing young women to partake in the educational programs as well. Due to eighty percent of the women being illiterate, San Jose Ojetenam, Guatemale has launched a highly successful education program. Most Guatemalan’s live on less than two dollars a day and children are almost always part of the labor force instead of going to school, especially the girls. San Jose Ojetenam supports 380 women, young girls and boys giving them an economic incentive to help them go to school, like giving families $100 a year to help with uniforms. Having this educational resources and the level of education they hope to achieve there are high hopes that the level of immigrants to the United States will decline. (Films Media Group, 2009). * The conclusion
The social structure theories “approach focuses on the social and economic conditions of life, including poverty, alienation, social disorganization, weak social control, personal frustration, relative deprivation, differential opportunities, alternative means to success, and deviant subcultures and subcultural values that conflict with conventional values.” (Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D/University of Phoenix, 2012, para. Major Principles of Sociological Theories). The citizens of Central America fall into over half of these social and economic conditions, forcing them to migrate to the United States with little to no heed for their safety and well-being. All anyone ever wants to do is provide for themselves and/or their loved ones and the poverty stricken conditions in Central America has led those to the United States in hopes to do so. Parts of Central America have learned to adapt and overcome their short comings through education and uniting communities but due to discrepancies in the system there will always be a want and, an unadmitted need for the United States, for illegal immigration. Unfortunately there will always be those that will abuse the system and continue to traffic the less fortunate into a life of slavery. We as United States citizens must be vigilant and conquer such evils in order to maintain peace and tranquility at best for our social and economic way of life.

REFERNCES * Bread for the World Institute. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.bread.org/institute/research/fact-sheets/poverty-in-mexico-fact-sheet.pdf * Moffitt, K. (2015). Education Portal. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/structural-functional-theory-in-sociology-definition-examples-quiz.html * McIntyre, E.S. (2015). Al Jazeera America. Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/ articles/2014/3/11/death-in-the-desertthedangeroustrekbetweenmexicoandarizona.html * BBC News. (2014). Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8343278.stm * Shacat, J. (2008, June 1). Clinic in Naco one of several on border. Sierra Vista Herald. Retrieved from http://www.svherald.com/content/jonathon-shacat/2009/09/20/58061 * Films Media Group (2009, March 5). Prostitution Along Immigration Routes [Video file]. Retrieved from Films Media Group website: http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39008&loid=53309 * Latino USA. (2014). Retrieved from http://latinousa.org/2014/09/12/smugglers/ * Academy for Educational Development. (2006). Retrieved from http://humantrafficking.org/organizations/312 * Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking. (2014). Retrieved from http://endslaveryandtrafficking.org/fy2014/Relevant-Authorization-Statutes.php * Mallén, P.R. (2013, July 30). Poverty Increases In Mexico To 45 Percent Of Population: 53 Million Mexicans Under Poverty Line. International Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/poverty-increases-mexico-45-percent-population-53-million-mexicans-under-poverty-line-1364753 * Drapkin, J.K. (2014, August 21). What is coffee rust and why is it pushing people to the U.S. border?. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved from http://www.nola.com/environment/ index.ssf/2014/08/coffee_rust_a_disease_on_the_m.html#incart_related_stories * JUST COFFEE COOPERATIVE. (2015). Retrieved from http://justcoffee.coop/ * Frontera de Cristo. (2015). Cafe Justo. Retrieved from http://fronteradecristo.org/2014/10/21/cafe-justo/ * Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D/University of Phoenix. (2012). Criminology Today. Retrieved from Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D/University of Phoenix, CJS231/Criminology website.