Though migration has continued, it has done so at a declining rate. In fact, overall growth in the migrant population in the United States has been offset by large numbers of deportations. This memo analyzes recent trends in Central American migration, starting with a brief historical context and moving on to current developments. It considers geographical divisions, reasons for migrating, and growth in the overall migrant population. It also addresses why the numbers of apprehensions are different from the numbers of people migrating. Finally, it considers implications of these current trends for Central American countries.
La izquierda y el fervor religioso se hacen un lugar en medio de los históricos récords de impopularidad de los mandatarios salientes este año: Santos, Temer, Peña Nieto, Cartes y Solís, quienes difícilmente superan el 20 por ciento de aprobación a su gestión. Michael Shifter analiza en esta entrevista con Semana este incierto panorama político de 2018.
On March 27, the Inter-American Dialogue in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. hosted an event titled “The Explosive Growth of Private Security in Latin America.” This discussion, moderated by Michael Camilleri from the Dialogue, featured panelists Claudia Paz y Paz from the Organization of American States, Eric Tardif from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Adam Blackwell from the Development Services Group. This discussion drew from a report recently published by the Dialogue titled, “Security for Sale: Challenges and Good Practices in Regulating Private Military and Security Companies in Latin America,” co-authored by Sarah Kinosian and James Bosworth.
The rapid rise of the private security industry is an inevitable byproduct of high levels of crime and violence in the region, and brings a new set of challenges to citizen security in Latin America.
El pasado 19 de febrero, se presentó en Guatemala el reporte “Remesas a América Latina y el Caribe en 2017”. Anualmente, el Diálogo Inter-Americano publica sus estimaciones para las remesas a América Latina, así como un análisis de las tendencias más importantes para el tema en la región.
Manuel Orozco, Director of the Migration, Remittances & Development Program, testified before the House Committee on Financial Services on the subject of “Examining De-Risking and its Effect on Access to Financial Services.”
Sending back 200,000 Salvadorans to an already strained region flies in the face of the objectives of the Alliance for Prosperity, and is a surefire way to worsen the social ills that lie at the root of the massive exodus to the United States. A chaotic Central America is a story with no winners except criminal syndicates.
On January 25, 2018 the Inter-American Dialogue’s Migration, Remittances & Development Program hosted “Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017,” an annual event presenting remittance flows to the region.
El pasado 3 de octubre, el Diálogo Interamericano en asociación con Free Press Unlimited, ICCO Cooperación y el Centro Latinoamericano para la Competitividad y el Desarrollo Sostenible (CLACDS) del Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas en Costa Rica (INCAE), organizó un panel sobre el periodismo independiente en Centroamérica con Carlos Fernando Chamorro, Martín Rodriguez y José Luis Sanz.
On October 3, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted an event entitled “How Insecurity Shapes Daily Life in Central America” to discuss a report recently published by the Inter-American Dialogue and the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) on crime avoidance in Central America. The event was moderated by Michael Shifter, with the speakers including Elizabeth Zechmeister, Carole Wilson, Michael Camilleri, and Juan Gonzalez. The panel discussed the report’s methodology and findings, as well as some of the broader implications of the research for policymakers in Latin America and the United States.
New research from the Inter-American Dialogue and the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) shows how crime avoidance influences everyday behaviors and has significant consequences for education, economic opportunity, development, and the rule of law—and help explain why intentions to migrate have risen sharply in every Central American country.
Ben Raderstorf, Michael Camilleri, Carole J. Wilson, Elizabeth J. Zechmeister