Over 100,000 Guatemalans crossed the Mexican border in the early 1980s, fleeing from army violence. Many dispersed in Mexican communities. Many went farther north, swelling the ranks of Central American refugees in Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago. Some 45,000 were recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and lived in camps in Mexico until the mid-1990s. In the 1990s, some decided to return home.