A matter of survival:  why unaccompanied children leave the northern triangle of Central America

Lidia-Gabriela Jarmasz

doi:10.32920/ryerson.14649294

Abstract

This MRP applies a grounded theory approach to a scoping review of a range of sources examining the factors driving the migration of unaccompanied children from the Northern Triangle of Central America. Four principal drivers are identified in the literature; of these, two represent push factors in the country of origin: violence and dismal economic conditions; the other two—family reunification and a perception of ease of entry into the destination country— can be construed as pull factors. I argue that the push factors are the main cause of the migration of unaccompanied children, while the pull factors represent enabling factors that facilitate this migration. Further, I also contend that, for this migration flow, violence and economic factors form a vicious cycle and therefore cannot easily be teased apart. This case therefore challenges traditional models of migration that assume a dichotomy between voluntary and forced migration. Key words: unaccompanied child migrants; Northern Triangle of Central America; drivers of migration; survival migration; push and pull factors

Highlights

In February of 2016, an article in The Guardian (Stillman, 2016) introduced me to the phenomenon of children migrating without their parents from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), composed of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras
Is, “What are the factors driving the migration of unaccompanied children from the NTCA?”
Two subsidiary research questions further specify the core question: “Are unaccompanied children from the NTCA motivated by push or pull factors?” and “Are unaccompanied children from the NTCA primarily migrating for economic reasons, to flee from violence, or because of a combination of the two factors?” Following Castles (2013), I take the word driver to refer to factors that compel people to migrate as well as those that facilitate their migration (p. 124)

Summary

Introduction

In February of 2016, an article in The Guardian (Stillman, 2016) introduced me to the phenomenon of children migrating without their parents from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), composed of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. It vividly described the dangers (including assault, robbery, and rape) that young unaccompanied migrants face when crossing Mexico overland on their way to the United States. On top of a general urge to raise awareness about the plight of these young migrants, I wanted to better understand why they were so desperate to leave their country of origin under such risky conditions Two years later, this major research paper (MRP) has given me the opportunity to explore this question in more depth. This MRP will follow the preference of the recent Englishlanguage literature on youth migration from the NTCA, and will use the label unaccompanied to describe both categories of children traveling without their parents

Objectives

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion