Washington, January 16 (RHC)-- Migrants to the United States and Mexico are increasingly arriving as families, compared to several years ago when most arrivals were young men looking for agricultural work.

Growing political violence in Mexico and Central America are changing both the motives and the nature of migration, Ecosur researcher German Martinez Velasco told the Mexican news agency Notimex, but economic concerns are still at the heart of the issue. Most migrants seek work, study or a higher standard of living.

Martinez Velasco added that Chiapas state is in a particularly intense period, comparing it to the refugee crisis in Guatemala in the 1980s. He said that regional conflict is causing internal displacement as well as migration to the border.

Despite more austere border control on the part of the United States and Mexico, migrants are not discouraged, as shown by the mass detention of 51,000 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador

The number of “apprehensions” of unaccompanied minors doubled in 2015 compared the 2014, according to statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, while those of families tripled.