Abstract
In the 1960’s, immigration to the United States from Colombia gained momentum. The decades proceeding after 1960 demonstrated an increasing Colombian immigrant population. Aside from the hopes of a better life and opportunities, what exactly led to this upward trend? The political instability, violence, derived from insurgencies, and economic conditions were the factors that caused many Colombian citizens to depart from their native country. The development of insurgencies and weakly structured institutions had a great impact on Colombian lives that goes unnoticed. Colombia underwent a civil war for over 50 years between the Colombian government, far-right paramilitaries, and far-left guerrilla groups. Emergence of such groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), brought violence and terror into the lives of many Colombians. With aid from the American government, Colombia attempted to control the conflict. While that was happening, Colombia’s greater involvement in the drug trade and increased drug production became both political and economic issues. Colombia’s involvement in the drug trade compelled the crime rate to sharply increase, thus shaping a rather unsafe environment for citizens. The aim of this presentation is to highlight these two primary factors that explain the increase in Colombian emigration. Personal accounts from Colombians and several academic articles will be used to help demonstrate the trend. Through observing and analyzing research, the objective of this paper is to expose the direct causes that pushed Colombian citizens to the United States, particularly the violence and weak institutions. This paper aims to impact readers to become more aware of the current situation of Colombia and accepting of those immigrants who they come across each day.