Giving Compass' Take:

· Futurity discusses the different motivations for migration and explains that for Central American migrants, violence at home is leading to their journey to the U.S. 

· How can donors help address a migrant crisis in other countries coping with violence?  

· Read more about the growing number of immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. due to violence and political instability in the Northern Triangle.

The findings of a new study suggest that current migration deterrence policies, which mainly target economic migrants, are ineffective against those fleeing violence.

In 2014, the United States saw a dramatic spike in migration from Central America, creating a humanitarian crisis along the US-Mexico border. In response, the Obama administration implemented a number of efforts to detain and deport the newcomers, as well as launching “know before you go”-type multimedia campaigns throughout Central America to deter potential migrants by warning them about the dangers of the journey north and the high risk of detention and deportation upon arrival. However, these efforts did little to stem the tide.

Since several of these nations have exceptionally high crime rates, and there is anecdotal evidence that crime is a heavy driver of migration from these countries, researchers sought to measure the phenomenon empirically.

To do so, they analyzed data from the university’s Latin American Public Opinion Project’s 2014 AmericasBarometer survey, which included questions about respondents’ personal experience with crime and whether they intended to migrate to the US in the next three years.

The AmericasBarometer survey, which fieldworkers conduct entirely in person, is considered to be the gold standard for public opinion research, making the data highly reliable.

Read the full article about Central American migrants by Liz Entman-Vanderbilt at Futurity.