Central American Migration Patterns: How the actions of the United States have impacted emigration from the Northern Triangle of Central America

Author(s)

Sydney NewbyFollow

Abstract

This paper is based on the fact that there is a growing number of Americans who feel negatively about immigrants, especially from Latin America. However, these people do not consider what role their own country plays in these migration patterns. There has been an increase in migration from Central America, specifically the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and there has been research by experts on what has caused this migration surge. Some of these reasons include political and economic instability. However, a lesser explored reason in the field and a reason that is likely not considered by the average person is the involvement the United States has had in these countries. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the United States involved themselves in the politics of Central America which has consequently damaged these countries. The research question this paper will strive to answer is “To what extent has the United States’ past involvement in the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras impacted the emigration patterns of these countries today?”

This paper will use the events of the Guatemalan Revolution, the Salvadoran Civil War, and the Honduran coup d’état to demonstrate the involvement of the United States. All three of these events were orchestrated at the hands of the United States and had a large impact on their respected countries. These three events, and therefore the United States, continues to impact these three countries today, and also can be traced to many of the reasons why people choose to migrate. The United States has a responsibility for the migration surge out of Central America due to reasons such as instigating violence and by destroying governments which has left a lasting political instability.

Department

International Studies

Major

International Studies

Second Major

Spanish

First Advisor

Dr. Stefan Fritsch

First Advisor Department

International Studies

Second Advisor

Dr. Amilcar Challu

Second Advisor Department

History

Publication Date

Spring 4-26-2022

Repository Citation

Newby, Sydney, "Central American Migration Patterns: How the actions of the United States have impacted emigration from the Northern Triangle of Central America" (2022). Honors Projects. 686.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/honorsprojects/686