Centroamérica / Migration

The Hope of Central American Migrants: A More Compassionate North


Friday, October 16, 2020
Sonja Wolf

A recent study I authored for the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, a Mexican public policy think tank, sought to compile detailed and contextualized information on the motives and conditions that propel forced migration from Central America’s Northern Triangle. Specifically, the study hoped to understand the ways that conditions of violence generated by various actors or oppressive structures become causes of displacement. To investigate this question, between August and November 2019, 134 semi-structured interviews were conducted with forced migrants from the Northern Triangle, with the cooperation of various intermediaries, including migrant shelters and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Migrantes salvadoreños cruzan el cauce del río Suchiate, que marca la línea fronteriza entre Guatemala y México, el 2 de noviembre de 2018, previo a la llegada de Bukele a la Presidencia. La caravana que partió de San Salvador el 31 de octubre, pretendía llegar hasta Estados Unidos. Foto de El Faro: Víctor Peña. 
Migrantes salvadoreños cruzan el cauce del río Suchiate, que marca la línea fronteriza entre Guatemala y México, el 2 de noviembre de 2018, previo a la llegada de Bukele a la Presidencia. La caravana que partió de San Salvador el 31 de octubre, pretendía llegar hasta Estados Unidos. Foto de El Faro: Víctor Peña. 

Given the sensitive nature of the issues addressed, a strong emphasis was placed on research ethics, with particular focus on the iterative model of informed consent, which suggests that obtaining informed consent is not a single event, but involves a research relationship that is constantly sensitive to the needs, concerns, and values of its participants. In practical terms, the iterative model requires that researchers provide ongoing assurances that participation in a given study is voluntary, anonymous, and confidential, while offering subjects a certain degree of control over the research process.

All individuals interviewed agreed that migration from Central America will not slow unless the countries of the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) undergo significant and enduring changes. At the same time, participants were skeptical about the feasibility of such transformations, due to the complexity of the problems and the perceived cooptation of government institutions.

Migrant interviewees felt that all citizens should be able to live with dignity and under conditions that respect human rights. They hoped to find stable jobs with benefits and better pay, regulated by labor laws, as well as greater government investment in public services and infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Some participants stressed that priority should be given to social investments rather than investments in security. Many also expressed a need for more support for poor families and single mothers, and for the construction of housing and the establishment of free food programs for children.

On the issue of public security, opinions differed significantly regarding how to best respond to the gangs, and on the role of the military. Some participants felt that security policies should address the social roots of crime and gangs. There was also a recurring perception that the gang problem had gotten out of control and required more drastic action. Some participants believed that Mano Dura (Iron Fist) policies should be strengthened, that more soldiers should be deployed, and that gang members should be imprisoned or even eliminated.

Several people thought that police officers should be better paid to encourage them to be less corruptible, but also acknowledged that the limited presence of the state in much of Central America is a reality that cannot be ignored. These individuals explained that in some of their communities, in order to prevent the problem of gangs from getting out of control, residents had formed civilian self-defense groups.

Many of those interviewed were concerned about the quality of government. Power, they said, should be exercised for the benefit of citizens and to fight corruption. They also expressed a need for more politicians who are responsible and sensitive to citizens’ needs. To bring about a shift in the mindset of government authorities, they felt that people should stop voting for politicians who have little to no integrity, and should demand a new political class.

Hondurans were emphatic in their assertion that a change in government was essential. They were convinced, however, that removing President Juan Orlando Hernández from power, despite his ties to illicit drug trafficking, would be a difficult to impossible task considering his control over state instruments of repression, as well as the support he enjoys from the United States and certain intergovernmental organizations.

Many Salvadorans, on the other hand, expressed an unexpectedly positive view of President Nayib Bukele’s administration. (Unexpected in light of the leader’s authoritarian gestures, revelations of corruption, and his commitment to the failed policies of Mano Dura). They felt that the president was doing a good job in his first year in office, and they applauded his willingness to crack down on the gangs. They believed that Bukele had new ideas, and had broken with the practices of the past by not being affiliated with either of the country’s two traditional political parties, both disgraced by accusations of corruption. They were confident, moreover, that unlike some of his predecessors, Bukele would refrain from stealing public funds simply by virtue of being so wealthy that he has no need to empty the public coffers.

The prospect of reform in Central America is uncertain given resource scarcity and a lack of political will to pursue sustainable public policy changes. In the meantime, migrants are in dire need of the support and protection of transit and destination countries. Participants interviewed for the study, aware of incidents of discrimination and hostility directed against foreigners, asked that understanding and patience be afforded those fleeing violence and instability in their home countries. Among those who had encountered gang members among the refugee population, some suggested that shelters should establish greater controls to prevent asylum seekers from being exposed to danger.

The majority of participants emphasized the need for policy changes, especially on issues of migration and asylum. Many called for less complicated and difficult processes for regularizing immigration status, and for less state repression along migration routes. There was widespread understanding, however, that migrants are big business for both organized crime and the state. Those who had been victims of extortion by state agents—in the form of fabricated traffic violations or pretend kidnappings in migrant detention centers in Mexico—added that stricter measures should be instituted to reduce corruption among police and immigration agents.

Others argued that the asylum and refugee process should be streamlined, and that asylum seekers and refugees should have better access to public services and housing. In the case of the latter, they requested assistance with references and security deposits. Also, they said, there should be an effort to educate the Mexican populace on the human rights of migrants, to help avoid discrimination in, for example, job hiring practices. In essence, Central Americans asked that they not be treated differently from Mexican citizens simply because of their status as migrants.

Participants acknowledged that migration from Central America would not stop as long as inequalities and injustices continue to exist. In this sense, many noted that immigration policies based on containment, such as those promoted by the United States and Mexico, are not only ineffective, but also expose people to serious dangers. 

Participants acknowledged that among those who cross borders irregularly there are some who are fleeing from the law or seeking to do harm, but, they said, most unauthorized migrants are good people who are not trying to hurt anyone. The governments of transit and destination countries, many said, should be more empathetic and understanding of the fact that most migrants leave their countries of origin in order not to die of hunger, or to avoid being killed by gangs. Participants insisted that if the governments of Mexico and the United States understood these personal histories and the needs of the people who leave, they would realize that Central American migrants deserve to be given a chance for a better life.

Making this a reality would involve ensuring greater access to protection, as well as creating more avenues for legal immigration, especially in the United States. Temporary work permits would reduce risks for those travelling north through Mexico, but according to some interviewees, these can be difficult to obtain due to anti-migrant racism. Displaced persons are human beings who provide valuable contributions to local economies, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

Responses from interviewees highlight how states have not only neglected to ensure a dignified life for their citizens, but have also failed to advocate that transit and destination countries treat migrants with dignity and ensure they can travel without suffering violence and discrimination. As long as the structural conditions that force people to migrate are not addressed through enduring public policies that center social welfare instead of repression, the northbound flow of migrants from Central America will not stop.

*Sonja Wolf is a CONACYT research fellow with the Drug Policy Program at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), Mexico.

*Translated by Max Granger

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