With all the violence rising in Central America caused by the gangs, thousands of kids and families are crossing the border to find shelter and leave the gangs behind where they faced death threats.

The increase of deaths all over the country led many people to migrate to the U.S. yearning for a safe haven. Thousands of immigrants seeking asylum have moved to the northern region where they now attend school.

At AHS, Osmin, a student whose last name he did not want to reveal, shares his story of how one day while he and some friends were working, a gang member showed up where they were and told them to join the gangs.

“I lived with my aunt and grandmother in El Salvador. The place where I lived was controlled by MS-18 and MS-13,” Osmin said. “When I was there, I used to be wanted by the gangs because I worked for a company that would fix electronics.”

Osmin shares how back home he was given the choice to either join the gangs or get killed.

“One day, the MS-18  sent me a message through one of their members and they told me and four other friends to join the gangs or if not, we would get killed.”

The student talks about how he was only given two choices by the gangs and how he feared for his life.

“Receiving death threats is the main reason why I came to the U.S. I only had two choices, either join the gangs or die. In El Salvador there is so much delinquency and you risk your life every day to go out and not come back home alive.”

Osmin remembers how young he was when he was asked to join the gangs.

“”I was 16 years old when the gangs asked to join the group,” Osmin said.

Nowadays the gangs in El Salvador  are targeting teenagers between ages 14 and 16 where they receive threats by gang members to either join the gangs or get shot in the head.

For people to be eligible to join the gangs and show their commitment to the gang, they must kill a family relative. Osmin talks about how he was asked to kill someone.

“The gangs once told me that if I did not join the group, they would cut off my head and if I decided that I wanted to become a gangster I had to kill one of my family members,” Osmin said.

A national forensics institute that tracks homicides revealed that August was the bloodiest month of 2015 in El Salvador with 911 homicides total just in that month, an average of 30 deaths a day according to Fox News.

El Salvador is the smallest country located in Central America, yet the most populated. In the past years, the country has been known to be a violent place  due to the lack of action taken by the Salvadorian government towards gangs.

According to The Washington Post, “The MS-13 work through a partnership called “La Hermandad,” or “The Brotherhood,” across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. The gang is believed to have between 1,500 to 3,000 members, all of which are 16 to 18 years old.”

The number of deaths mostly include police officers who were guarding the streets where the gang groups reside.

Different groups of gangs from Central America fled to the U.S. looking for asylum. Once they arrived to an unknown territory, violence and threats from other street gangs in the U.S. led the Latino gangs to unite and defend themselves from U.S. gangs, resulting in the formation of the most violent gangs found in El Salvador, Mara Salvatrucha, translated to “Salvadorian gang” (MS-13) and Barrio 18, translated to “hood 18” (MS-18).

Both of these gangs were mainly formed  because of the political issues they had against the Salvadorian government at the time of the Civil War.

Mara Salvatrucha originated in Los Angeles, CA, and from there its members spread to other parts of the U.S., Canada and Central America.

The gang members of Mara Salvatrucha were mainly members who received military training to fight the Salvadorian government during the civil war. Now they are well-known for being violent and cruel.

Since the latest presidential election that took place in 2014, the newly-elected president Salvador Sanchez-Ceren announced his plans to fight the gangs and stop the violence.

Ceren’s plan was to send the leaders of the gangs to the maximum security prisons where they would be banned from receiving visits from relatives who would often carry messages for them.

This action taken by the president only led to the killing of civilians and police officers, where gangs would kill countless officers every day to show their rebellion against the government. The gangs later sent a message to the president saying that if he didn’t send their leader back to the regular prisons, they would continue attacking civilians.

Like many other teens and families who are currently escaping threats and violence from the gangs, Osmin had to walk his way through the border between Mexico and the U.S. where his goal was to escape the gangs and be reunited with his family again.

“I came to the U.S. [by] car and walking from El Salvador to Austin, TX until Immigration caught me and The Health Department sent me to my parents here in VA. I arrived here in May 11, 2014. I was set free by immigration where I go to court. I am still in the process [of] gathering all the evidence I need to ask for safe haven,” Osmin said.

Although Osmin is now in a safe place with his family, he still fears for his life and he tries every day to cope with the trauma he went through.

“I am going to be honest, the U.S. also has gangs, they are also here, but it’s not like in El Salvador. Here, the laws are different and that makes me feel a little bit safe,” Osmin said. “I feel less worried, but the trauma is there because it does not matter where you go, you will always have that thought in your mind that someone is watching you.”

Coming from a place where you fear for your life every day is something that somebody has to deal with. Osmin is one of those kids that, despite the adversities, he looks forward to his future here in the U.S.

“I’m thankful for this country and for letting me fight for my future. I always try to do the very best in school and whenever I can, I also work. Right now, I am in level three (ESOL) and I like the school system here, also the teachers are always there to help me,” Osmin said.

Although measures have been taken by the government, the gangs seem to be unstoppable and the violence does not seem to be going away anytime soon.