Undeterred by four years of harsh border enforcement under the Trump administration, the cyclical northward movement of migrants and asylum-seekers to the US border has returned. As the crisis has grown, US Vice President Kamala Harris has been tasked with addressing it. In contrast to past periods of large-scale immigration to the United States, however, it is less the promise of opportunity that is pulling immigrants to America’s southern border and more the certainty of hardship at home that is pushing them there.
On this episode of Fast Thinking, Atlantic Council experts Rebecca Scheurer and Jason Marczak dive into the root causes of mass emigration from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and offer recommendations for long-term solutions to the underlying push factors that drive people from their homes—including crime, gang violence, corruption, and climate change.
