Organizations pushing for federal immigration reform hope the case in San Antonio will lead to federal changes. Tuesday afternoon, Bexar County officials said 51 people had died in the back of a truck. More than a dozen others were hospitalized with heat-related injuries.
"My heart goes out to the families of everyone affected, not just the families of those we lost recently but also over the last several years," says Julio Acosta, a community organizer who has previously worked with students and families through DACA and the DREAM Act.
Acosta says, as immigration has become more political, the focus has shifted more towards enforcement. He says that has made people more desperate to reach the United States.
"We know there are many, many people who have died who aren't accounted for," Acosta says.
El Salvador's parliament declared a state of emergency in March to address an increase in the murder rate there. Last year, the murder rate in El Salvador was 20 per 100,000 residents. In Texas, the rate of people who died from all homicides was 7.6.
Acosta says he lived in El Salvador from 2011 to 2013.
"I saw firsthand the situation people live day to day," he says. "It's a cancer. The cartels are also a cancer. I place myself in the shoes of a father who, literally, doesn't know what else to do. I hate saying it, but I can see myself saying, 'If my family's going to die here, let me at least try to make it somewhere they won't die, hopefully.' It does break my heart."
Acosta says he hopes the San Antonio case will lead to action at the federal level, comparing the need in Central America to the effort to rebuild Western Europe after World War II with the Marshall Plan.
"I hope this will inspire a real conversation on how we move forward in a way where Latin America can be lifted, give them the resources they need to be prosperous," he says.
Then he says people will feel less desperate to reach the United States, reducing the expense and manpower needed for border security and processing asylum seekers.
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