VIOLENCE, CLIMATE,
FOOD INSECURITY,
AND POLICY
HISTORICALLY DRIVE EMIGRATION
FINANCIAL
INSECURITY
DRIVES
MIGRATION
HALF OF MIGRANTS
WORK IN THE
SAME OCCUPATION
AFTER RELOCATION
ONLY 57%
OF MIGRANTS
RESIDE IN THEIR
INTENDED
DESTINATION
MIGRATION
COSTS
ADD TO
FINANCIAL
BURDEN
CHARTING A NEW
REGIONAL COURSE
OF ACTION
ABOUT
Scroll Down to Learn More
ABOUT
Charting a New Regional Course of Action
The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration
Download the Full Report
Download the Executive Summary
Read the Press Release
Watch the Launch Presentation
Key Findings of the Project
1 | Central Americans’ desire to migrate
internationally is on the rise, but only a fraction of the surveyed population planned and prepare.
2 | Violence, insecurity, and natural disasters have been complex and longstanding triggers of migration, but economic factors were participants’ primary motivation for desiring to emigrate to do so.
3 | Family ties and positive perceptions of safety and belonging were key reasons why Central Americans decided not to migrate.
4 | The reported likelihood to migrate within the last five years was similar across household income levels.
5 | Most but not all migrants relied on irregular channels to migrate, and nearly a third had not reached their destination country.
6 | Although economic factors were the primary motivators for seeking to migrate, there were notable differences across departments within El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
7 | Reported costs to contract smugglers were not only significantly higher than the costs of using regular mechanisms but also comprised the majority of total annual migration costs.
8 | The volume of migrant remittances varied by country yet represented a means of survival across households.
Considerations for
Policymakers
1 | Expand national social protection programs and stimulate investments to increase economic opportunities, eradicate hunger, and alleviate poverty for at-risk populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
2 | Tailor ongoing economic development and investment initiatives to municipal-level conditions with robust monitoring and evaluation metrics.
3 | Create incentives and opportunities for diasporas to invest in the development of local communities and become agents of change.
4 | Incorporate programs and initiatives that underscore the positive conditions that give people the option to seek opportunities at home into broader migration management strategies.
5 | Expand legal pathways for Central Americans interested in migrating to the United States and other destination countries to redirect migration flows from irregular to regular channels.
Project Summary
Influenced by an array of pull and push factors, the movement of Central Americans toward the United States has shaped the migration landscape in the region for decades. Yet, changes over the past five years in the volume and characteristics of those on the move have drawn an unprecedented level of attention from regional governments seeking to reduce irregular migration. This website visualizes the key findings from the report—Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Cost of Central American Migration—made in collaboration between the MIT Civic Data Design Lab, UN World Food Programme (WFP), and Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
The key findings primarily draw from unique household survey data, collected by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and international and civil-society partners. Between April and May 2021, the research team conducted interviews with nearly 5,000 households in 300 communities across the following 12 departments: Ahuachapán, Cabañas, San Salvador, and Usulután in El Salvador; Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Chiquimula in Guatemala; and Choluteca, Cortés, Francisco Morazán, and Yoro in Honduras (see map). The survey asked respondents about their living conditions, intentions to migrate, and the sociodemographic characteristics of household members who had migrated, among other related questions.
There were 1.8 million combined encounters of migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras at the U.S.–Mexico border between fiscal years 2017 and 2021, surpassing the number of encounters of Mexican migrants in four of the last five fiscal years. Since 2018, the region has also witnessed larger and more frequent mass movements, including those composed of significant shares of families and unaccompanied children, primarily bound for the United States and motivated by a mix of employment opportunities, family reunification, and humanitarian protection needs.
At the same time, there is renewed political interest in countries stretching from Panama to Canada in collaboratively addressing the unabating root causes of migration and displacement. This has led to the advancement of regional frameworks that seek to promote safe, orderly, and regular migration with the goal of benefiting migrants and origin and destination communities alike, while contributing to sustainable development and making migration an option, not the only resort to escape country conditions. If this interest can be leveraged and translated into action, governments in the region have a unique and timely opportunity to shift from an enforcement-centered strategy to a more multifaceted migration management system rooted in cooperation.
Acknowledgments
Annette Castillo, Johanna Costanza, Carlos Martinez, Adriana Moreno, Luis Penutt, Hector Roca, Claudia Saenz, Francesco Stompanato, Andrea Vega, Information Systems Program for Resilience in Food and Nutrition Security at the Central American Integration System, (PROGRESAN-SICA) Oxfam, Action against Hunger, WeWorld-GVC. Local and national authorities across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, which made it possible to reach 300 communities. All the 5,000 families who welcomed the survey implementors and shared insights about their households’ migration experiences. This project could not have been possible without them.
Report Authors
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto (MPI), Rossella Bottone (WFP), Jaret
Waters (MPI), Sarah Williams (MIT), Ashley Louie (MIT), Yuehan Wang (MIT)
Civic Data Design Lab Researchers
Sarah Williams, Director
Ashley Louie, Project
Manager
Octavie Berendschot, Carlos Centeno, Victor Chau, Zoe Kuhlken, Alberto
Meouchi, Niko McGlashan, Yuehan Wang
Website Design and Development
by Civic Data Design
Lab
Sarah Williams, Ashley Louie, Alberto Meouchi, Niko
McGlashan, Octavie Berendschot, Yuehan Wang
Image Credits
All images are courtesy of WFP, except for the following, displayed in the Origins Timeline section.
Exhumation in the Ixil Triangle in Guatemala. Source: CAFCA Archive.
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. Source: EDH Archive.
Guatemalan Civil War. Source: Telesur Archive.
Guerrilla Soldier. Source: Loyola University Chicago Collection.
A man walks along the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Source: Getty Images.
El Niño Phenomenon in Central America. Source: END Archive.
A group of migrants of Central American origin waits on the railway line. Source: iStock/Getty Images.
ABOUT
Charting a New Regional Course of Action
The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration
Download the Full Report
Download the Executive Summary
Read the Press Release
Watch the Launch Presentation
Key Findings of the Project
1 | Central Americans’ desire to migrate internationally is on the rise, but only a fraction of the surveyed population planned and prepare.
2 | Violence, insecurity, and natural disasters have been complex and longstanding triggers of migration, but economic factors were participants’ primary motivation for desiring to emigrate to do so.
3 | Family ties and positive perceptions of safety and belonging were key reasons why Central Americans decided not to migrate.
4 | The reported likelihood to migrate within the last five years was similar across household income levels.
5 | Most but not all migrants relied on irregular channels to migrate, and nearly a third had not reached their destination country.
6 | Although economic factors were the primary motivators for seeking to migrate, there were notable differences across departments within El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
7 | Reported costs to contract smugglers were not only significantly higher than the costs of using regular mechanisms but also comprised the majority of total annual migration costs.
8 | The volume of migrant remittances varied by country yet represented a means of survival across households.
Considerations for Policymakers
1 | Expand national social protection programs and stimulate investments to increase economic opportunities, eradicate hunger, and alleviate poverty for at-risk populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
2 | Tailor ongoing economic development and investment initiatives to municipal-level conditions with robust monitoring and evaluation metrics.
3 | Create incentives and opportunities for diasporas to invest in the development of local communities and become agents of change.
4 | Incorporate programs and initiatives that underscore the positive conditions that give people the option to seek opportunities at home into broader migration management strategies.
5 | Expand legal pathways for Central Americans interested in migrating to the United States and other destination countries to redirect migration flows from irregular to regular channels.
Project Summary
Influenced by an array of pull and push factors, the movement of Central Americans toward the United States has shaped the migration landscape in the region for decades. Yet, changes over the past five years in the volume and characteristics of those on the move have drawn an unprecedented level of attention from regional governments seeking to reduce irregular migration. This website visualizes the key findings from the report—Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Cost of Central American Migration—made in collaboration between the MIT Civic Data Design Lab, UN World Food Programme (WFP), and Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
The key findings primarily draw from unique household survey data, collected by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and international and civil-society partners. Between April and May 2021, the research team conducted interviews with nearly 5,000 households in 300 communities across the following 12 departments: Ahuachapán, Cabañas, San Salvador, and Usulután in El Salvador; Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Chiquimula in Guatemala; and Choluteca, Cortés, Francisco Morazán, and Yoro in Honduras (see map). The survey asked respondents about their living conditions, intentions to migrate, and the sociodemographic characteristics of household members who had migrated, among other related questions.
There were 1.8 million combined encounters of migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras at the U.S.–Mexico border between fiscal years 2017 and 2021, surpassing the number of encounters of Mexican migrants in four of the last five fiscal years. Since 2018, the region has also witnessed larger and more frequent mass movements, including those composed of significant shares of families and unaccompanied children, primarily bound for the United States and motivated by a mix of employment opportunities, family reunification, and humanitarian protection needs.
At the same time, there is renewed political interest in countries stretching from Panama to Canada in collaboratively addressing the unabating root causes of migration and displacement. This has led to the advancement of regional frameworks that seek to promote safe, orderly, and regular migration with the goal of benefiting migrants and origin and destination communities alike, while contributing to sustainable development and making migration an option, not the only resort to escape country conditions. If this interest can be leveraged and translated into action, governments in the region have a unique and timely opportunity to shift from an enforcement-centered strategy to a more multifaceted migration management system rooted in cooperation.
Acknowledgments
Annette Castillo, Johanna Costanza, Carlos Martinez, Adriana Moreno, Luis Penutt, Hector Roca, Claudia Saenz, Francesco Stompanato, Andrea Vega, Information Systems Program for Resilience in Food and Nutrition Security at the Central American Integration System, (PROGRESAN-SICA) Oxfam, Action against Hunger, WeWorld-GVC. Local and national authorities across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, which made it possible to reach 300 communities. All the 5,000 families who welcomed the survey implementors and shared insights about their households’ migration experiences. This project could not have been possible without them.
Report Authors
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto (MPI), Rossella Bottone (WFP), Jaret Waters (MPI), Sarah Williams (MIT), Ashley Louie (MIT), Yuehan Wang (MIT)
Civic Data Design Lab Researchers
Sarah Williams, Director
Ashley Louie, Project
Manager
Octavie Berendschot, Carlos Centeno, Victor Chau, Zoe Kuhlken, Alberto
Meouchi, Niko McGlashan, Yuehan Wang
Website Design and Development
by Civic Data Design
Lab
Sarah Williams, Ashley Louie, Alberto Meouchi, Niko McGlashan, Octavie Berendschot, Yuehan Wang
Image Credits
All images are courtesy of WFP, except for the following, displayed in the Origins Timeline section.