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Central America Migration Crisis, Background, and Ongoing Tragedies

February 6, 2022

 

Guatemalan migrangt crash survivor in Mexico, December 11, 2021	Latin American migrant families in their way to the United States, January 11, 2022

 

Economics drives migration from Central America to the U.S.

A new survey underscores how material needs lead to movement within the Americas — at a high cost to those trying to relocate.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News Office

November 23, 2021

MIT Associate Professor Sarah Williams and other colleagues helped prepare a report showing that migration from Central America to the U.S. is largely driven by economic factors, at great financial expense to migrants themselves. Credits: Image: iStockphoto Caption: This infographic shows that 85% of Honduran migrants surveyed said economics, such as a better job or sending remittances, was a motivation for migrating. Credits: Image: Courtesy of the researchers Caption: This infographic shows the estimated annual spending by migrants traveling to the U.S. from Central America in 2021. The image text says that “Migration on one’s own (often with caravans) often costs less. Migrants who choose to travel irregularly on their own (mostly from Honduras) spend less to migrate, and travelling in a group protects them along the journey. The average cost to migrate to the U.S. is $2,900 on one’s own or with.a caravan and is $7,500 with a smuggler.” Credits: Image: Courtesy of the researchers. 

A new report about migration, co-authored by MIT scholars, shows that economic distress is the main factor pushing migrants from Central America to the U.S. — and highlights the personal costs borne by people as they seek to move abroad.

“The core issue is economics, at the end of the day, and this is where policymakers need to be focusing their energy,” says Sarah Williams, an MIT professor who helped produce the report. “At the heart of what’s causing migration is that people don’t have enough money to provide for their basic needs.”

The study, based on a unique survey of over 5,000 people in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, finds a sharp increase in the number of people considering migrating after nearly two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 43 percent of people surveyed in 2021 were considering migrating, compared to 8 percent in 2019. That change comes as food insecurity in the region soars: The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) estimates that 6.4 million people in the three countries were suffering from food insecurity in 2021, up from 2.2 million in 2019.

Survey respondents cited low wages, unemployment, and minimal income levels as factors increasing their desire to emigrate — ahead of reasons such as violence or natural disasters. In contrast to the 43 percent of people who were considering migrating, only 3 percent of people in the survey said they had made concrete plans to migrate. But 23 percent of those experiencing food insecurity had made concrete plans to leave.

One likely reason more people do not migrate is cost: An estimated 1.8 million Central Americans have attempted to migrate in the past five years, costing them collectively about $2.2 billion per year, which is equal to about one-tenth of Honduras’ annual GDP.

“That is an extreme amount of money,” says Williams, an associate professor of technology and urban planning in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and director of MIT’s Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism. “That $2.2 billion is all paid for by the migrants themselves, so the risks, both in terms of debt and personal risk, is borne by the migrant.”

MIT’s Civic Data Design Lab, which Williams also directs, helped analyze study data, produce the report, and create data visualizations to illustrate the economics of regional migration from central America.

Providing services to two countries

The report, “Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration,” is the product of a collaboration between the WFP; the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a nonpartisan think tank; and MIT’s Civic Data Design Lab. Additional funding support was provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS). The project grew in part of a food insecurity study by the WFP, who also conducted the immigration survey.

The findings are being discussed at an online forum today featuring WFP Executive Director David Beasley, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, and IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone; Williams and the report authors; and the foreign ministers of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The report found that 89 percent of people considering migrating were looking at the U.S. as their first choice. In households where someone had tried migrating in the last five years, about 57 percent of migrants had successfully reached their destination country and stayed, while 33 percent had returned home.

About 55 percent of migrants had tried using an illegal smuggler to help them, at a cost of about $7,500 per attempt, compared to a cost of about $4,500 for those using legal means.

“Illegal pathways to migration are much more expensive than legal pathways,” Williams observes.

Whatever means migrants use, Williams also notes, the migrants themselves are bearing the cost of providing services to two countries. Migrants are a source of inexpensive labor in the U.S.; foreign-born workers made up 73 percent of all U.S.-hired crop labor workers in 2016, for instance.

But Central American countries also benefit from the labor of emigrants: Around 29 percent of households receive remittances — cash payments from immigrants living abroad, which constitute a nontrivial source of income in places like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

“We must create incentives and opportunities for diasporas to invest in the development of local communities and become agents of change,” Williams says.

The policy possibilities

With many Central American residents at least considering immigration, the new report suggests a series of policy measures that could help their local and national economies. While the U.S. is involved in aid programs in Central America, the report’s policy suggestions emphasize economic investment tailored to local conditions, tied with increased social programs. For instance, investment in local agriculture can be linked to better support for school-food programs that use local produce.

“Targeted investment would do a lot more than just providing aid to the country,” Williams says.

The report also recommends expanding legal pathways to immigration that could simplify the entire process, and help the regional flow of labor meet demand. This includes, as the report notes, “coordinated efforts to increase access to temporary employment visas,” among other things.

Williams says the Civic Data Design Lab, which focuses on urgent social policy matters, plans to continue to examine immigration issues and related matters. This is because the root causes are complex and data can help clarify the issues for policymakers and the public. Her lab has developed a visualization website making the survey and the report more accessible to the public.

“We’re bringing the skills of MIT to an important issue, and that’s what has been so rewarding,” Williams says. “We hope this collaboration continues and are looking forward to working with the World Food Program again in the future.”

Report: Economics drives migration from Central America to the U.S. | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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The Central America Migration Crisis

CRS (Undated, circa after 2018)

BACKGROUND

The Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are among the world’s most dangerous countries. At 90 for every 100,000 people, the homicide rate is nearly five times what the World Health Organization considers an “epidemic.” People face an insurmountable level of violence, insecurity and lack of economic opportunities. “Join-or-die” gang recruitment policies make life nearly impossible for innocent youth in gang-controlled areas. Business owners face extortion and threats from gangs while corrupt and inadequate policing fails to protect them.

DEALING WITH DROUGHT

Meanwhile, five years of recurring droughts across the Dry Corridor that runs through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua have destroyed corn and bean harvests, the mainstay of the Central American diet. Meanwhile, farming practices like incorrect fertilization and burning and deforestation of hillsides are depleting the land and threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of farmers who depend on seasonal rainfall to grow the food that feeds their families. During the last extreme drought of 2018, 2.2 million farmers in the Dry Corridor suffered crop losses, leaving 1.4 million people without an adequate amount of food. 

FLEEING NORTH

Struggling with rampant violence, chronic poverty, and failed harvests due to environmental degradation and climate change, entire families have made the difficult decision to leave their homes and flee north. In October 2018, multiple migrant caravans set off from Hondurans and other Central American countries—comprising about 10,000 people in total—with the intention of reaching the United States in search of asylum and a dignified life. Since then, tens of thousands more people have made the dangerous trek north, through Mexico, an exodus that highlights the need to address the violence, poverty and other root causes of this humanitarian emergency.

COVID-19

Migrant shelters along the route from Guatemala through Mexico have been in a perpetual state of emergency since the first caravan made its way to the United States in 2018. The context of COVID-19 has only heightened their vulnerabilities. In March, many of Mexico's migrant shelters closed their doors to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but continue to host the people who were already there, even if for much longer than planned. Due to new legal restrictions, migrants seeking U.S. asylum face lengthy, delayed processing in Mexico, where they await word in dangerous border cities. Tens of thousands are stuck in limbo, many without safe shelter, and highly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and contagion.

In Central America, the virus is leading to massive disruptions to the livelihoods, safety and social cohesion of those already in extremely tenuous circumstances - threatening their limited access to food and education, and their ability to work. The pandemic is increasing the risk of extreme hunger in Central America, a region already experiencing rising fod prices and supply chain distruptions. It is restricting people from planting and harvesting crops, working as day laborers and selling produts. This means less food for people already living on the edge.

 Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for CRS  Map by CRS  Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for CRS  Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for CRS  Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for CRS  Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for CRS  Map by CRS

CRS Response to the Central America Migration Crisis

Our primary approach to the migration crisis in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador is to address the root causes of violence, poverty and drought that are pushing people to leave their homes and countries in the first place. Our experts are working with local, national, and international governments and organizations to find solutions to those causes, which now include adaptations to address the realities of COVID-19.

VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL AMERICA

We believe young people in even the poorest, most violent neighborhoods have the power to change their lives and communities. With transformational vocational training and education programs, youth will stay, thrive and transform their communities. 

Our youth programming takes a holistic approach, engaging communities, local partners and governments to help at-risk youth in Central America realize their full potential. 

Based on a model developed in Harlem, New York, in the late 1970s, CRS’ YouthBuild project provides concrete opportunities for employment, education and leadership to young people, ages 16 to 25, who are out of school or unemployed.

Since 2009, we have graduated nearly 10,000 students. We’ve worked with 400-plus businesses to provide jobs to youth. 

Learn more about our YouthBuild programs in Latin America.

POVERTY IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Poverty is one of the main "push factors" that forces people in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to leave their countries. What we're doing to encourage people to stay:

We provide daily school meals to children through the McGovern‐Dole Food for Education Program. In Honduras alone we feed about 52,000 students a year. We provide “cash‐for‐work” opportunities as a source of income. Because families depend on livestock and crops to earn an income, we host livestock and seed fairs to help families get the resources they need to earn a living. We’re also providing vaccination services and veterinary care for their animals.

DROUGHT IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Erratic rainfall patterns, rising temperatures and recurrent drought are threatening the livelihoods of farmers in Central America who depend on seasonal rainfall. At the same time, an estimated 80% of farmland in the region suffers from soil degradation. Only by working with farmers to revitalize their land and adapt to the region’s increasingly extreme and variable climate can we help cultivate a prosperous future for rural communities.  

Here’s what we’re doing to alleviate drought in Central America:

CRS’ Water‐Smart Agriculture project is working with some 3,000 farmers in the region to revitalize agricultural production, create resilience to drought, and restore soil and water resources. We’re training farmers how to use the right fertilizer, in the right amount, at the right time, in the right place. We’re working with farmers to keep their cops covered to protect soil and add nitrogen and biomass that improve soil fertility and help it capture and store more rainfall. We’re helping farm families integrate agroforestry and other new crops into their farming for more diverse household consumption and income.   

Learn more about CRS’ Water Smart Agriculture in Latin America.

SHELTERS

In addition to addressing the root causes of the migration crisis, we also provide assistance to shelters for migrants. With support from the Church and community volunteers, local shelters have, for years, offered migrants a place to sleep, eat and recieve medical care and other services. But these shelters were established to support migrants for short periods. Due to the quarantine and delayed asylum process brought on by the pandemic, they are having to provide long-term accommodations. Many shelters are ill-equipped to handle the increased demand and understand how to protect migrants during this rapidly changing emergency.

CRS has provided these shelter partners with vital resources, including food and hygiene supplies, and repairs and improvements of facilities. CRS is also coordinating with Caritas Mexico to host webinars for shelter staff and leadership to address diverse challenges, and have access to clear, concise and accurate information.

Central America Migration Crisis: Facts and How to Help | CRS

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Guatemala charges 10 for 2021 trip when migrants were slain

AP, February 5, 2022

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) —

Prosecutors in Guatemala on Friday charged 10 members of a smuggling ring that allegedly organized a 2021 trip during which 15 migrants were killed in northern Mexico.

Prosecutors said the suspects are charged with criminal conspiracy, money laundering, human trafficking and other crimes.

A dozen members of an elite police unit in the northern Mexico state of Tamaulipas have been charged there with the January 2021 killing of 19 people, including the 15 Guatemalan migrants. A migrant trafficker, two Mexicans and an unidentified person were also among the dead, their bodies shot and burned. The motive for the killings remains unclear.

Prosecutors say the smuggling ring continued sending migrants on a route that includes northern Mexico even after the slayings. The migrants were trying to reach the United States.

Guatemala charges 10 for 2021 trip when migrants were slain | AP News

Families separated at border now fear extortion attempts

Stalled negotiations for the U.S. government to pay families separated at the border during Donald Trump's presidency have brought new threats of extortion against some families

Via AP news wire

The Independent, Tuesday 11 January 2022 05:19

For the 30-year-old Honduran woman, the worst seemed to be over. She’s been reunited with her son who, as a 6-year-old, was separated from her under the Trump administration. She’s working construction in North Carolina And attorneys were negotiating a payment for families like hers that endured separations.

But reports about those negotiations have created a new worry: extortion attempts stemming from the mistaken belief that she received a huge payout. Her family has already received demands for $5,000 a month.

“Apparently, I am a millionaire now,” said the woman, who, like others interviewed by The Associated Press, spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears for her family’s safety. “I don’t have the money to pay for something like that and I don’t know what to do. I am desperate, really.”

While specific reports are isolated, widespread extortion in Central America explains why many seek asylum in the United States in the first place. Some advocates fear prospects of large payments will fuel many more threats. An attorney for the woman and other families has asked U.S. officials to consider admitting more relatives because of the threats.

It is far from clear whether families will receive any money at all from the U.S. government. Negotiations to settle claims for damages ended amid political outrage over payments erupted following a report in the The Wall Street Journal that the Justice Department was considering $450,000 a person to compensate for suffering — or $900,000 for a parent and child. A person familiar with the talks who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because discussions were private confirmed that figure had been floated.

“People here think that I have lots of money,” said a 47-year-old business owner in northern Guatemala whose wife was separated from their son. He has become more nervous because of news reports on the settlement talks and now changes his cellphone number every two weeks.

The man lives in Guatemala with his 14-year-old daughter, while his wife and now 18-year-old son live in Atlanta after being separated at the border for more than a month in 2018. The man said he was getting text messages at the time threatening to kidnap his son if he didn’t pay money.

“My neighbor told me the other day, ‘So you have money, because money was given to people who were separated in the United States.' And I told him that I did not know anything about that,” he said.

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The man said he and his daughter tried going to the U.S. in 2019. They were kidnapped in Mexico for two weeks, released to Mexican authorities after paying more than $3,000 and deported to Guatemala.

“I don’t live in peace,” he said. “I am always looking over my shoulder.”

Ricardo de Anda, an attorney for the Honduran woman and Guatemalan man, said five of the 72 families he represents have told him they were threatened after news coverage of the possible payments. One in Guatemala was targeted in an attempted kidnapping.

“These families have told us that they are now the subject of rumors in their communities as to the apparent wealth of family members in the U.S., that they have been subjected to surveillance by apparent criminal elements, and that they have been warned to be vigilant as criminal gangs are considering them the subjects of extortion," he wrote to Michelle Brané, executive director of the Homeland Security Department's Family Reunification Task Force. “As a result of the (news) leaks, family members in the U.S., and those trapped in home country, now live in constant fear.”

The task force, which is aiming to reunite nearly 2,000 children with their parents in the United States, had planned for the possibility of extortion, realizing that such threats are common in Central America, and set up a system to channel reports through the U.N. refugee agency, Brane said in an interview last month.

Brané said she had not yet received any specific reports but the potential danger underscores the need for the task force to complete its work.

“If families are in unsafe situations and need reunification, we are here to work and get that done as soon as possible,” she said.

The task force has reunited about 112 children with their parents in the U.S. as of last week. They are being granted permission to stay in the country for at least three years while they pursue asylum or seek permanent status through another program.

Other attorneys for the families said they had no direct knowledge of threats tied to possible payments but said they were inevitable, if they haven't happened already. The attorneys suspect some attempts have gone unreported or word hasn't reached them.

“I have no doubt that it's happening in more cases than we know about,” said Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which was involved in settlement talks over financial compensation.

The talks are delicate for the administration, which has been criticized for considering large payouts. President Joe Biden himself said, “That's not going to happen,” when asked in November about the $450,000 figure, and later clarified that he backed some compensation.

Last month, the Justice Department withdrew from talks over financial compensation after eight months but didn't rule out an agreement.

“While the parties have been unable to reach a global settlement agreement at this time, we remain committed to engaging with the plaintiffs and to bringing justice to the victims of this abhorrent policy,” the department said in a statement.

This month, attorneys for families renewed a request for the administration to turn over troves of records on how the policy was conceived and executed, signaling a potentially long court battle.

Talks have continued over non-monetary issues, including reunifying families in the United States and other services, such as mental health, attorneys said.

De Anda asked the administration to consider admitting family members who were threatened since the news reports. The administration has focused on parents and children who were separated but says it will consider additional families case by case.

The Honduran woman said her 56-year-old mother has received notes asking for $5,000 a month. The mother cares for the woman's other children, an 11-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. The woman wants all to join her in North Carolina.

Acquaintances have warned that the children may be unsafe in Honduras.

“I am scared," said the woman, who takes pills for anxiety and went to the emergency room with chest pains after the threats against her mother. "I don’t know what can happen to my kids.”

Families separated at border now fear extortion attempts | The Independent

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Battered survivors tell of Mexico truck crash that killed 55

Simply counting up the human cost of the horrifying truck crash that killed 55 migrants and injured over 100 is chilling, even for those who survived the disaster on a highway in southern Mexico

Via AP news wire Saturday 11 December 2021

Simply counting up the human cost of the horrifying truck crash that killed 55 migrants and injured over 100 is chilling, even for those who survived the disaster on a highway in southern Mexico.

About 40 of the survivors were listed with “multiple contusions” at local hospitals late Friday, and they were the least injured.

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