Forced Migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to the United States: identifying environmental refugees in multicausality

Abstract

Abstract This article discusses natural disasters as the main factor that have led to forced migration processes in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to the United States between 2018 and 2023. These three countries have similarities in that their contexts of poverty and violence that force people to flee from them. They are also considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be some of the most vulnerable places in Latin America to climate change. We analyzed data on internal displacement and asylum-seekers from these countries; statistics on the apprehension of migrants at the Southwest land border of the United States; data on natural disasters. This article aims to show that disasters can influence internal and international forced migration. By identifying potential environmental refugees in Central American migrations, we hope to draw attention to the need for legal protection for these people in situations of vulnerability.

Keywords

• climate change
• natural disasters
• forced migration
• Central America