Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador
Related Content
Highlights
A study of 2018–22 migration narratives in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador found government deterrence messaging misaligned with community realities.
- Governments frame emigration as a destabilizing threat and push enforcement-heavy narratives, while many communities view it as a vital economic lifeline and source of pride.
- Fear-based deterrence messaging is fundamentally misaligned with migrants' decisions; irregular migration reached record highs from 2018 to 2022 despite heightened enforcement.
- The "virtuous migration cycle" narrative is undermined by chronic underinvestment in returnee reintegration; nearly 863,000 migrants returned between 2018 and 2022 with little to no support.
- Policymakers should align messaging with lived realities, invest in reintegration services, and expand legal pathways—not just enforcement—to reduce irregular migration.
The stories told within a society about migration and migrants paint a rich picture of how its members view the opportunities and challenges associated with the movement of people, and through what lenses. These migration narratives both inform policymaking and shape the public’s reaction to government policy, affecting the policies’ chances of achieving their goals.
While El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are primarily known for emigration to the United States and Mexico, these northern Central American countries have seen notable changes in migration trends in recent years. The number of migrants from South America and the Caribbean who transit through these countries on their way north has increased, as has the number of Central Americans returning to their countries of origin.
Resumen ejecutivo
Para leer el resumen ejecutivo del reporte en español, haga clic aquí.
Suscríbase
Recibe novedades en español sobre los últimos análisis y eventos del MPI.
Suscríbase aquíThis report presents the findings of research conducted by the Migration Policy Institute, RAND Corporation, Metropolitan Group, and National Immigration Forum, comparing migration narratives within El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—as well as a selection of migration narratives from Mexico and the United States that relate to Central America—over the 2018–22 period. The study explores how these narratives about emigration, transit migration, return, and other issues intersect, how they contradict or compound each other, and how they influence critical policy debates and decisions in the region.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Regional Context: Three Periods of Migration Trends and Policy Approaches
3 Key Findings on Central American Migration Narratives
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
Latin America and Caribbean Initiative
The Initiative combines rigorous research with direct engagement of governments, institutions, and stakeholders to help build orderly, rights-respecting migration systems across one of the world's most dynamic migration regions.
About the Global Program
The Global Program bridges policy advice, research, and candid dialogue to design effective migration policies, drawing on global evidence and anticipating the forces reshaping how people move.
Related Content
