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10 Things Working People Should Know About the Caravan Arriving in California

As Central American families who have made the perilous journey through Mexico arrive at the U.S. border, here are 10 key things working people should know:

Staying home simply is not an option. Families undertake this life-threatening journey because the crime, violence and crushing poverty at home are so extreme that they see little choice but to flee in order to survive and try to build a better future.

We must address the root causes of this displacement. Unfortunately, flawed U.S. foreign and trade policies have exacerbated dangerous conditions in these countries, breeding violence and desperation. We need to fundamentally reimagine our relations in the region instead of scapegoating refugee families and denying their rights.

The answer is not more militarized border enforcement. Nativists in the U.S. have incorrectly labeled this as an “immigration” problem that only can be solved with enhanced border control. The majority of families are turning themselves in to authorities and have suffered violence or faced threats of violence that indicate a need...