Cincinnati.com / May 9, 2019
Roberts Paideia Academy had one Hispanic student in the 2005-06 academic year.
By September 2014, the Latino enrollment in the East Price Hill elementary school had grown to almost 50%, 343 of 697 students.
Today, because of a surge since January and an unexpected spike since April 1, the number of Spanish-speaking students at Roberts has ballooned to 67% of 829 students.
It isn’t just Roberts seeing the surge; it’s happening at other Cincinnati Public and Archdiocese of Cincinnati schools…
Why and why now? Answers complex
Violence and disputes over land and mineral rights in Guatemala have led to murders of Mayan and other Indigenous leaders, which, in turn, have spurred more desperate and last-resort migration.
Climate change and drought throughout the Northern Triangle also are fueling emigration. The United Nations World Food Program reports that 2.81 million people are struggling to feed themselves in southern Guatemala, northern Honduras and western El Salvador. Coffee is the only crop unscathed.
Hunger is one of the major reasons that migration hasn’t stopped, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Human rights activists with Bread for the World say that nearly half of Guatemalan children are chronically malnourished.
For example, said Fernandez of the Roberts Welcome Center, if a father accompanies his wife and children, he knows he is likely to be arrested when he follows through on his appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Even if he is deported, he has hope that his wife and children can stay,” Fernandez said. “Many farmers are coming because they can’t pay back” loans they have taken out on their farms.”
The Central American migration to East Price Hill and surrounding neighborhoods also has resulted in people moving from suburban Springdale and Fairfield. Fernandez said that’s because some migrants believe they’re safer in a larger community. They also are nearer to necessary education, social and legal services in Cincinnati as compared to other areas locally.