Por Jillian Slutzker
What’s causing people from the Northern Triangle of Central America to take the risky journey to the United States and elsewhere?
Based on extensive data mining and 2,400 entrevistas en persona, Creative’s newly released study, “Saliendo Adelante: Por qué los inmigrantes lo arriesgan todo,” provides nuanced insight into the localized factors that influence one’s decision to migrate. It focuses on the 60 municipalidades across El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala that account for more than half of the irregular migration from the region.
The study’s name, “Saliendo Adelante," inspired by a Spanish phrase that connotes a feeling of resilience and a desire to move forward in life, was a sentiment echoed by many of the 2,400 individuals interviewed as part of this research.
With this local-level data, development programming can more effectively address the specific determinants that shape a person’s decision to make the risky, even dangerous, journey north.
Get five quick facts from the study below! Para aprender más, visita https://www.saliendo-adelante.com/.
1. Who intends to migrate?
A nivel nacional, Creative’s study revealed that 33 percent of Hondurans intend to migrate, while 24 percent of Salvadorans intend to, followed by 18 percent of Guatemalans. The majority of these migrants are coming from just 60 municipalities in the Northern Triangle.
2. Economics is the primary driver
En general, economic concerns are by far the most significant driving factor for migrants from the Northern Triangle. The study showed that economic concerns—including unemployment, household earnings under $400 per month and being unable to make ends meet, and a pessimistic economic outlook—are the primary statistically significant determinants for 71 por ciento de guatemaltecos que tienen intención de migrar, 67 percent of Hondurans who intend to and 50 percent of Salvadorans who do.
Those whose households earn less than $400 a month and who cannot make ends meet are 1.25 times more likely to consider migrating. More than one-third of survey respondents reported household earnings under the $400 line and said they could not make ends meet.
3. Being victimized makes you 1.5 more likely to migrate
Regionalmente, haber sido víctima de un delito o tener un familiar o alguien cercano a usted que lo haya convertido en un individuo 1.5 times more likely to consider migrating.
Nearly one-third of survey respondents who have considered migrating from Honduras have had a family member or close friend murdered. Youth tend to be affected even more by victimization in their decision to migrate. In El Salvador, 1 en 4 young women aged 18 a 29 who intends to migrate has seen a family member or close friend murdered. En Honduras, 65 percent of young men who intend to migrate have been robbed on the street.
4. Más que 1/3 of youth in the Northern Triangle plan to migrate
Across the three countries, de término medio 36.7 percent of youth intends to migrate.
De hecho, encuestados 18 a 29 años tienen más del doble de probabilidades de considerar migrar que los adultos de 30 y mayores. The data from Honduras is particularly stark: 46 percent of youth from the municipalities surveyed intend to migrate, en comparación con 28 percent of older adults.
Youth are exposed to factors at different rates from adults, y en algunos casos, react differently to those factors. According to the survey, Honduran young women intend to migrate more than young men. This is not the case in the other countries where young men were found to have higher intentions to migrate.
5. Reuniting with relatives not a large pull
Lazos transnacionales: definidos aquí como la existencia de una familia en los EE. UU., recibo de remesas, y migración previa a los EE. UU.. – es un factor de atracción en la ecuación migratoria, pero tiene mucho menos impacto que la economía y la victimización.. Solo 3 El porcentaje de los encuestados citó la reunión con familiares como su principal razón para querer migrar..
Sin embargo, in the larger regional context, a culture of migration has been and continues to be solidified through the generations. Nearly two-thirds of all survey respondents have a relative living abroad, con 75 por ciento de esos familiares han vivido en los EE. UU.. para 10 años o más.
Yet statistical analysis shows that simply having a family member in the U.S. is not a differentiating factor between those who intend to migrate and those who don’t, a pesar de la gran cantidad de personas que reportaron vínculos familiares.
To read more about the study, explore the data and hear migrants’ stories, visita: https://www.saliendo-adelante.com/