VIOLENCE, CLIMATE,
FOOD INSECURITY,
AND POLICY
HISTORICALLY DRIVE EMIGRATION
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FINANCIAL
INSECURITY
DRIVES
MIGRATION
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HALF OF MIGRANTS
WORK IN THE
SAME OCCUPATION
AFTER RELOCATION
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ONLY 57%
OF MIGRANTS
RESIDE IN THEIR
INTENDED
DESTINATION
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Accessibility
MIGRATION
COSTS
ADD TO
FINANCIAL
BURDEN
ONE MIGRANT
From El Salvador Spent
$8,500
Irregular Pathway on One's Own or with a Caravan
Migrants Spent $2.2 Billion
to migrate from Central America to the United States in the last year.
Each circle represents One Migrant traveling to the U.S. from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.
The colors distinguish the migration pathway used for each migrant's journey.
Regular Pathway
Irregular with a Smuggler
Irregular on One's Own or with a Caravan
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Spent $2.9 Billion
in 2018 on apprehending Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans at the Southwest Border.*
Migrants Spent as Much as Governments
Our study found that in 2020, migrants collectively spent close to what their governments spent on primary education to migrate.*
Irregular Migration Costs are High in Risk and Finances
Irregular channels, which include migration with the assistance of a smuggler and on one's own or with a caravan to made up 80% of the migration pathways to the U.S. from El Salvador, Guatemala, yet 89% of the cost based on survey respondents. These pathways are extremely dangerous and many do not make it to their intended destination.
Migration with a Smuggler is the Most Expensive
Estimates show that it costed migrants from Central America a total of $1.7 billion in 2020 to travel with a smuggler to the United States. Migrants use smugglers because they protect them on the trip, but often use narcotraffic routes and bribes to get migrants across the border.
Migration on One's Own (Often with Caravans) Often Costs Less
Migrants who chose to travel irregularly on one's own (mostly from Honduras) spent less to migrate; travelling groups 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.
Regular Migration Pathways Reduces Costs
1 in 5 (19%) migrants headed towards any destination used regular migration pathways, including tourist, student, and farm worker visas. This reduces cost for migrants, and also help to reduce enforcement costs.
Migrants Have Significant Debt
Migrants often receive assistance from family and friends, use personal savings and/or obtain bank or personal loans to afford the journey. Survey respondents from migrant households reported that 41% of recent migrants heading towards all destinations financed their trip with support from relatives and friends. An additional 19% paid for migration costs using their own savings, and 18% used loans from financial institutions.
Expand Legal Pathways for Central Americans Interested in Migrating to the United States
Coordinated efforts to increase access to temporary employment visas, for example, could help meet the overwhelming demand for employment opportunities abroad. Shifting even a fraction of irregular migration to regular channels would decrease the estimated $1.7 billion that Central Americans spend annually on irregular migration with a smuggler to the U.S. and instead increase state revenues—for instance, through reasonable application fees—which can then be invested in initiatives to address other drivers of irregular migration.
CHARTING A NEW
REGIONAL COURSE
OF ACTION
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