Migration from Huehuetenango in Guatemala’s Western Highlands: Policy and Development Responses
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Highlights
Poverty and insecurity drive irregular emigration from Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Fragmented policies have failed to address root causes of migration.
- Huehuetenango, one of Guatemala's poorest and most diverse departments, has among the country's highest emigration rates. Most migrants are young Indigenous men who travel irregularly to the United States, leaving families reliant on remittances.
- Root causes include chronic poverty, limited land access, poor public services, high violence and gang presence, and weak local governance that leaves communities with no viable economic alternatives to migration.
- Existing interventions—agricultural programs, vocational training, and municipal migration offices—are underfunded, fragmented, and rarely reach the poorest communities in remote highland areas.
- Strengthening municipal migration offices, improving local economic development for Indigenous and rural communities, expanding legal migration pathways, and coordinating Guatemalan and U.S. policy to address structural root causes could improve outcomes.
Migration is not new to Huehuetenango or to the other departments that make up Guatemala’s Western Highlands, but it has accelerated noticeably in recent years and become much more focused on the United States. In the Western Highlands, one of Guatemala’s poorest and most rural regions, money sent by migrants has become a key resource, helping families and communities improve their housing, clothing, nutrition, education, and more.
While unauthorized migration has become a lifeline and an increasingly common pathway to opportunity for many families in the Western Highlands, it also exposes migrants to significant risks and divides families. A critical first step toward developing alternatives to irregular migration—both within Guatemala and through opportunities to migrate via legal channels—is to understand the underlying causes and the more specific, immediate triggers that drive people to leave.
This study, the result of a collaboration between MPI and the Guatemalan nongovernmental organization Asociación Pop No’j, seeks to support this understanding through a close look at the patterns and drivers of emigration from Huehuetenango, as well as potential strategies to address push factors and create alternatives to unauthorized migration. It draws in part on more than 50 interviews conducted in Spring and Summer 2021 with community leaders, service providers, local and national government officials, leading scholars, and others.
Para leer este reporte en español, haga clic aquí.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Patterns of Migration
3 Reasons for Migration
A. Population and Poverty Pressures
B. Ethnic Stratification
C. Food Security, Nutrition, and Health
D. Education and Human Capital
E. Employment, Markets, and Financial Access
F. Violence and Corruption
G. Climate Events and Climate Change
4 Building Alternatives to Unauthorized Migration
A. Creating Legal Pathways for Circular Migration
B. Building the Local Infrastructure for Development
C. Investing in People as Agents of Change
5 Conclusion
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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.
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