[bluepizza]

We tend to be pushed towards immigration because of a lack of safety, of growth opportunities, and no hope that things will get any better.

With that in mind, if Latin America had safety, I suspect at least half of the immigrants wouldn't leave, especially the ones who are able to hold a middle class job.

Most of us would live in a lower standard of life if it allowed to stay close to friends and family. But not being able to walk down the street bears a heavy weight on our anxieties.

[DragonStrength]

And the impoverished areas of America are also where gun crime and drug overdoses are the most common. Oh, and don't forget losing healthcare and education services as the area continues to decline. These things go together just like in Latin America.

Moving in response to this reality is not an American values problems. I find the instinct to blame Americans for their discontent while framing others in the same situation as victims quite odd.

[lazide]

More $$$ is a strong motivator.

Latin American tends to be unsafe (physically), but the money probably plays a bigger motivating factor. Remittances and ‘doing it for the family back home’ are common themes.

[the_af]

> Latin American tends to be unsafe (physically)

Depending on which country and which city, Latin American cities are not more dangerous than risky US cities. Many of our cities are reasonably safe. There are burglaries, muggings and robbery like in most big cities all over the world -- no more, and no less.

There are some "trouble" hot spots that are particularly dangerous, of course. The same can be said of the US.

[lazide]

Risky US cities are pretty risky though. Which is why I said that.

[the_af]

Let me rephrase then: average Latin American cities in many countries are comparable to average US cities.

There are trouble hotspots (and countries) just as there are trouble hotspots in the US.

It's not true that Latin America as a whole is "unsafe". It's not Ciudad Juárez everywhere. I live in Buenos Aires and there's crime comparable to any big city (with better and worse periods, of course).

[lazide]

And large portions of the population (much more than in the US) live in areas that have violent crime and murder rates higher than the worse parts of Oakland. And that isn’t even counting Guatemala as it’s just ‘adjacent’.

Southern South America isn’t bad, but also doesn’t have many people in it.

[bluGill]

The children of that immigrants are growing up and seem to have less concern about the cousins back in the old country - their home is the US as are all their friends. The people back in the old country are interesting but not really relevant.

[lazide]

Same as it ever was. Not a lot of Irish, Norwegian, English, French, Germans still keep in contact with ‘home’ after 2-3 generations either.