Central American Migration to the United States: Historical Roots and Current Conditions

Abstract

In general, the scholarship on large-scale migrations from Central America to the United States in the past three decades has located the roots of these migration streams in the civil wars and political strife of the 1980s, with more recent migrations originating in the context of the generalized violence, or “common crime.” In this chapter, we discuss the more complex reality, analytically disentangling the political, economic, and social factors that in practice are deeply intertwined and work together to propel massive migrations from the region. We note that the United States, a relatively strong state that has made multiple incursions in Central America, has emerged as the main destination for the majority of Central American migrants. Domestically, the United States has simultaneously produced a legal, political, and social context of instability for most Central American migrants, making it difficult for these communities to thrive. We focus on migrations from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—the largest sending areas of migrants to the United States—and end the chapter by highlighting the modes of resistance and support structures of diverse Central American migrant communities, which have secured limited but notable victories in the effort to make their new homes more stable.