Immigration to the U.S. is partially motivated by gun violence, which, in turn, is exacerbated by firearms purchased in the U.S. and illicitly smuggled into Mexico by organized crime groups, Newsweek reports. Over 200,000 firearms found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico between 2015 and 2022 were linked back to the U.S., data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) show s. Migrants from those four countries make up the bulk of border crossings into the U.S. each year. "So the criminal organizations that are running drugs into the United States are also controlling the movement of migrants and making it impossible for many families to stay in their communities. [They] are getting their guns from U.S. retail markets," said John Lindsay-Poland of the organization Stop U.S. Arms to Mexico.
A map using federal data released under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed the states and counties where firearms were traced back to. Texas topped the list, with 22,506 firearms linked back from those four countries, followed by other border states Arizona (9,451) and California (7,796). Guns linked to all 50 U.S. states were found in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with some traveling far as Maine and Hawaii. While some weapons were trafficked through complex criminal networks, many others were bought in the U.S., usually by straw purchasers, and carried back across the border. While Lindsay-Poland said there was no one quick fix for such a complex issue as international gun trafficking, an assault weapons ban — a policy often touted by Democrats, including Vice President Harris — could help stem the flow of firearms out of the country. "It won't be immediate because there's already a lot of assault weapons from the U.S. in Mexico, but it is the most common tool used by criminal organizations that are making life in Mexico just impossible to stay," he said. The gun-control nonprofit Everytown said the Department of Justice charged over 1,300 defendants with firearms dealing in the past five years.
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