Thousands of immigrants pass through the southern border. Why are they fleeing their home countries?

Christal Hayes | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Parents of immigrant children: It's not right Two fathers attempting to cross the border into the U.S. share their motivation and their fears about making the journey as they risk being separated from their children due to the 'zero tolerance' immigration policy.

Every day, thousands of migrants pass through the U.S. southern border.

Some travel as far as 1,000 miles, walking through deserts and carrying water jugs and the small possessions they need to start a new life. It is a perilous journey that isn't for the faint of heart: More than 400 died trying to make it to the USA last year, according to the United Nations’ migration agency.

Why do they risk their lives and the possibility of being separated from family?

Though Mexico is the country most often talked about in the immigration debate, many of those crossing the border traveled from Central American countries rife with corruption, crime and poverty. These root problems have been a driving force for years for immigrants to make the journey to the USA.

President Donald Trump enacted a "zero tolerance" policy when it came to those trying to cross the border illegally, hoping to dissuade migrants.

That hasn't stopped immigrants. Though totals on border crossings are down, the number of families coming through the southwest border jumped sixfold in May to 9,485 compared with the same month in 2017. There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the USA.

U.S. Border Patrol video shows inside detention center Government provided video shows more than 1,100 people inside metal cages in a warehouse that's divided into separate wings for unaccompanied children, adults on their own, and mothers and fathers with children.

More: Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' border prosecutions led to time served, $10 fees

Since October, more than 58,000 have arrived, the bulk from Guatemala, followed by Honduras and El Salvador.

While Republicans and Democrats debate what to do with those seeking a new life in America and future immigration policies, those making the trek have several motivations.

Violence

"This isn’t about immigrants chasing the American dream anymore," Sofia Martinez, a Guatemala-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, told the Associated Press. "It’s about escaping a death sentence."

El Salvador was the murder capital of the world with a rate of 104 people per 100,000 in 2015. The country has a higher homicide rate than all countries suffering armed conflict except for Syria, according to the most recent global study by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey.

Residents of Honduras face extortion and criminals demanding a "war tax," which, if not paid, could mean death.

More: Trump's 'zero tolerance' immigration policy sparks outrage in Central America

More: Families fleeing violence keep coming to USA illegally despite Trump zero tolerance policy

Those fleeing Mexico also hope to get away from violence.

Georgina Ayala Mendoza, her husband and their three kids fled Michoacán, a state along the west coast of Mexico, on May 3. One day earlier, armed members of a drug cartel entered her mother-in-law's home and killed two of her husband's brothers, she said.

More: Along California-Mexico border, more Mexicans fleeing violence seek asylum

She worried the cartel would try to recruit her husband to work for it – or face the same fate as his brothers.

In March, the State Department listed Michoacan as one of five Mexican states to which U.S. citizens should not travel. Violence in the country has been on the rise, and last year, more homicides were recorded than in any other year since the government started tracking them, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Poverty

More than half the residents of Guatemala and Honduras live in poverty, according to CNN, which cited data from the World Bank Group.

Sixty percent of Honduras' population is in poverty. Though Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America, poverty rates have nearly hit 60 percent.

The president's crackdown on undocumented immigrants could worsen the security and economic situation in Central America, Martinez said, leading even more people to flee.

This year, Trump ended temporary protected status for 57,000 Hondurans and 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants, some of whom have lived in the USA for decades. If deported, they’ll return to countries ill-equipped to absorb them and generating too few jobs to provide opportunities to work.

Gangs and drug cartels

Lawlessness rules many countries where immigrants flee, and drug cartels, gangs and bribes are part of everyday life that runs similar to war zones in some areas.

The groups enforce informal curfews, demand taxes and force recruitment on young people.

Last year, 35 bus drivers, passengers and fare collectors were killed while riding buses into gang-controlled neighborhoods. Those who were spared a bullet were extorted for $19 million, according to the Salvadoran public transport owners’ association.

More: DOJ: Trump's immigration crackdown 'diverting' resources from drug cases

The number of people displaced in the nation of 6.5 million by turf battles between El Savador's two biggest gangs, MS-13 and Barrio 18, skyrocketed last year to 296,000, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

In Mexico, the government has fought drug cartels for years. That war and the battle between cartels over territory have left a trail of destruction and blood. Homicide rates broke records after the arrest and extradition of former drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

His arrest allowed other groups to move into the drug trade, leading to a battle for territory and the killings of both criminals and innocents throughout the country.

The formation of gangs that control parts of Central America stems back to civil conflicts that engulfed the region during the Cold War. The wars left a legacy of weak institutions criminals were quick to exploit.

Contributing: Erin Kelly; The Associated Press; Rebecca Plevin, Palm Springs Desert Sun