E.g., 11/25/2020
E.g., 11/25/2020

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.)

Aerial view of Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas
Reports

Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America

Addressing regional cooperation around migration will be among the immigration challenges and opportunities facing the incoming Biden administration. This report examines how movement between the United States, Mexico, and Central America has evolved in recent decades, and lays out a four-part strategy to expand opportunities for legal migration, address humanitarian protection needs, improve enforcement, and mitigate some of the forces driving people to emigrate.

Venezuelans waiting at the Peru border for their documents to be processed
Fact Sheets

Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Regional Profile

As Latin American and Caribbean countries face a dual challenge—managing large-scale Venezuelan arrivals alongside the COVID-19 pandemic—reliable data on the characteristics of newcomers are essential to policymaking. This MPI-IOM fact sheet offers a profile of refugees and migrants in 11 countries in the region, including their demographics, labor market participation, remittance sending, access to health care, trip details, and intention to return to Venezuela.

Featured

The Migration Portal is the first comprehensive website that tracks developments on immigration policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, presenting authoritative research, data, and analysis produced by MPI, governments, international organizations, researchers, and civil society.

Recent Activity

Articles
March 27, 2013
Guatemalan Migration in Times of Civil War and Post-War Challenges
By Susanne Jonas
Articles
March 18, 2013
Central American Immigrants in the United States in 2011
By Sierra Stoney and Jeanne Batalova
Articles
March 5, 2013
Beyond Remittances: Reframing Diaspora-Driven Development in El Salvador
By Daniela Villacres
Fact Sheets
February 2013
Resumen del Sector: Agricultura, Implicaciones para el Capital Humano y la Migración
By  Philip Martin and J. Edward Taylor
Fact Sheets
February 2013
Resumen del Sector: Manufactura, Implicaciones para el Capital Humano y la Migración
By  Peter A. Creticos and Eleanor Sohnen
Fact Sheets
February 2013
Resumen del Sector: Sistema de Salud, Implicaciones para el Capital Humano y la Migración
By  Allison Squires and Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez
Reports
February 2013
Ripe with Change: Evolving Farm Labor Markets in the United States, Mexico, and Central America
By  Philip Martin and J. Edward Taylor
Reports
February 2013
Strengthening Health Systems in North and Central America: What Role for Migration?
By  Allison Squires and Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez

Pages

Feature
April 1, 2006
Central Americans and Asylum Policy in the Reagan Era

Not long after the United States passed the 1980 Refugee Act, thousands of people began fleeing civil war in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Their treatment in the United States, linked to U.S. foreign policy, spurred the Sanctuary Movement and efforts to grant them refugee status, as Susan Gzesh of the University of Chicago explains.

Feature
June 1, 2003
Skilled Migration Abroad or Human Capital Flight?
B. Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown University sketches the big picture of skilled migration, touching on both negative impacts and positive feedback for developing states.
Feature
June 1, 2003
Remittances, the Rural Sector, and Policy Options in Latin America
Manuel Orozco of Inter-American Dialogue examines the increasing relevance of economic ties between diasporas and home country economies in Latin America.
Feature
February 1, 2003
Latino Remittances Swell Despite U.S. Economic Slump
Director of the Pew Hispanic Center, Roberto Suro, looks at how the flagging U.S. economy has not kept Latino immigrants from sending money back to their homelands.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Articles
March 27, 2013

Guatemalan Migration in Times of Civil War and Post-War Challenges

During recent decades, large-scale international migration has been an external escape valve for Guatemala, a response to the country's multiple internal problems. This article examines Guatemalan migration, primarily to the United States, into the post-war era; U.S. government immigration policies affecting Guatemalans; the impacts of migration within Guatemala; and Guatemala/Mexico migration dynamics.

Articles
March 18, 2013

Central American Immigrants in the United States in 2011

Since 1990, the number of Central American immigrants in the United States has nearly tripled. This immigrant population grew faster than any other region-of-origin population from Latin America between 2000 and 2010. This article focuses on a wide range of characteristics of Central American immigrants residing in the United States, including the population's size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Articles
March 5, 2013

Beyond Remittances: Reframing Diaspora-Driven Development in El Salvador

El Salvador's lengthy civil war crushed diasporas' opportunities for political or civic engagement in this small, densely-populated Central American nation. However, hometown associations—diaspora organizations that contribute to the development needs of their members' hometowns—represent a modern-day venue for civil society participation. This article explores how diasporas are contributing to development in more ways than just cash flows and projects by transforming the governance landscape.

Fact Sheets
February 2013

Resumen del Sector: Sistema de Salud, Implicaciones para el Capital Humano y la Migración

Esta ficha informativa analiza los cambios demográficos, los perfiles epidemiológicos y  los patrones de migración en El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México y los Estados Unidos.

Fact Sheets
February 2013

Resumen del Sector: Manufactura, Implicaciones para el Capital Humano y la Migración

El imperativo de mantener la competitividad de la industria manufacturera — un sector que se encuentra en rápida transformación y globalización — está impulsando a las empresas y diseñadores de políticas de la región de studio (es decir, en los Estados Unidos, México, El Salvador, Guatemala, y Honduras) a buscar nuevas estrategias para atraer la inversión y desarrollar el capital humano en el s

Fact Sheets
February 2013

Resumen del Sector: Agricultura, Implicaciones para el Capital Humano y la Migración

El sector agrícola en los EE.UU., México y Centroamérica se encuentra en medio de una transformación desde hace décadas. La demanda para cultivos intensivos en mano de obra, es decir, frutas, nueces, verduras, melones y especialidades hortícolas, como flores y setas (productos FVH, por sus siglas en inglés), está aumentando junto con la población y el crecimiento de los ingresos en la región.

Reports
February 2013

Strengthening Health Systems in North and Central America: What Role for Migration?

This study explores the intersecting dynamics of evolving demographic trends, shifting epidemiological profiles, and worker migration in five countries in the Americas to develop policy recommendations for health workforce development, specifically for nursing personnel. Countries highlighted are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the U.S.

Reports
February 2013

Ripe with Change: Evolving Farm Labor Markets in the United States, Mexico, and Central America

This report assesses trends in U.S., Central American, and Mexican agriculture and their implications for farm labor markets, including the demand for skills and its effects on education and workforce development. 

Pages