E.g., 01/31/2023
E.g., 01/31/2023
Central America & the Caribbean

Central America & the Caribbean

The countries of Central America's Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) have seen a significant number of their citizens migrate to the United States. Immigrants from the Caribbean represent half of all Black immigrants in the United States. As such, the ties between these countries and their diasporas have taken on new importance, as has the integration of these immigrants in their country of settlement. Research here explores the demographics, migration flows, human-capital development, interconnected policy realities, and outcomes for immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean. (For research specific to Mexico, see North America.)

Foto de personas que vuelven a entrar a México después de la expulsión de EE. UU.
Commentaries

El número récord de encuentros con migrantes en la frontera México-Estados Unidos encubre la historia más importante

Los titulares enfocados en la cifra récord de 2,4 millones de migrantes encontrados en la frontera México-Estados Unidos durante el año fiscal 2022 encubren la historia más importante: Los flujos migratorios se han diversificado rápidamente más allá de México y el norte Centroamérica, y como resultado, las políticas de control migratorio son incongruentes con la realidad de hoy. Esto demuestra la evidente necesitad de nuevos enfoques regionales, argumenta este comentario.

Image of marchers at Dominican Day parade in New York City
Articles

Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Caribbean living in the United States come from a diverse set of countries and territories, with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago the top origins. This article offers a sociodemographic profile of Caribbean immigrants, who represent 10 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population and nearly half of all Black immigrants in the United States.

Two farmers working in a field of maize and avocados in Mexico.
Reports

Temporary Worker Programs in Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica: Promising Pathways for Managing Central American Migration?

Irregular migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has become a dominant feature of the migration landscape in Central and North America, yet few legal pathways exist for Central Americans facing pressure to emigrate. This report explores how Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica could use existing temporary worker programs to expand legal migration options while also helping fill their labor shortages.

MPIenEspanol Featured Image Venezuela Blurred

Featured

MPI publishes its content most on point to migration policies, trends, and immigrant populations in Latin America and Spain in Spanish. You can access all of our Spanish-language content, including reports, commentaries, multimedia, and press releases, here, as well as sign up for updates when we publish Spanish-language content and learn more about our Latin America and Caribbean Migration Portal.

Recent Activity

FE LaBestia 2014
Articles
September 10, 2014
Central American Migrants and “La Bestia”: The Route, Dangers, and Government Responses
By Rodrigo Dominguez Villegas
FE TPS July2014 Haiti
Articles
July 2, 2014
Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent
By Madeline Messick, Claire Bergeron
UAC Webinar Train UNHCR
Multimedia
June 25, 2014
Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
PB June2014 CentAm Migrants
Articles
June 13, 2014
Dramatic Surge in the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children Has Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman
UnaccompaniedMinors Commentary June2014 PeterHaden
Commentaries
June 2014
What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?
By  Kathleen Newland
cover WHO book migration health workers
Books
May 2014
Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis
EventPH 2014.03.20 Children on the Run An Analysis of First Hand Accounts from Children Fleeing Central America
Multimedia
March 12, 2014
Children on the Run: An Analysis of First-Hand Accounts from Children Fleeing Central America
EventPH 2014.02.27 A Treacherous Journey Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System
Multimedia
February 27, 2014
A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System

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Recent Activity

Articles
September 10, 2014

Central American Migrants and “La Bestia”: The Route, Dangers, and Government Responses

Central American migrants have long hopped freight trains known as "La Bestia," or the beast, to get through Mexico en route to the United States. While Mexico has been accused of turning a blind eye to this traffic, U.S. outcry over the surge of unaccompanied child migrants has drawn new attention to the use of the trains. This article highlights the journey aboard the trains, the dangers faced by migrants, and responses by the Mexican government and others.

Articles
July 2, 2014

Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent

From a massive typhoon in the Philippines last November to the ongoing civil war in Syria, recent global events demonstrate that natural disasters and political strife occur suddenly and often without warning. This article examines the U.S. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program that grants humanitarian relief to nationals of certain countries embroiled in violent conflict or recovering from natural disaster.
Audio
June 25, 2014

Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions

The flow of unaccompanied children from Central America and Mexico to the United States has surged 90 percent since last year, with government officials predicting that it might reach 90,000 by the end of the fiscal year in September—and perhaps 130,000 next year. This telebriefing discusses factors behind the flows as well as short- and longer-term policy options for improving how the U.S. immigration system interacts with this population with distinct needs.

Articles
June 13, 2014

Dramatic Surge in the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children Has Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions

The phenomenon of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, typically after an arduous and often dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico, has reached a crisis proportion, with a 90 percent spike in arrivals from last year and predictions of future increases ahead.

Commentaries
June 2014

What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?

In the absence of a policy plan to address the surge in unaccompanied child arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, simplistic explanations and draconian “solutions” are already surfacing. In reality, the problem is enormously complex and there is no single policy approach that is going to bend the curve on unaccompanied child arrivals. This commentary explores possible ways forward.

Books
May, 2014

Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis

This edited volume from the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes chapters written by MPI researchers, examines country-level responses to the international movement of health-care workers, both before and after adoption of the WHO’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

Video, Audio
March 12, 2014

Children on the Run: An Analysis of First-Hand Accounts from Children Fleeing Central America

This event with UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres features findings from UNHCR’s report, Children on the Run, which examines the increasing numbers of children from Central America and Mexico who head off alone to find refuge in the United States, fleeing violence, insecurity, and abuse. The discussion provides analysis on the reasons behind the growing migration of this vulnerable population and offers recommendations. Read the report here.

Video, Audio
February 27, 2014

A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System

This panel discussion on unaccompanied minors focuses on a report by Kids in Need of Defense and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law, whose primary conclusion is that children face a U.S. immigration system created for adults that is not required to consider the child’s best interests.

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