When Internal Migration Fails: A Case Study of Central American Youth Who Relocate Internally Before Leaving Their Countries

Executive Summary This paper examines the experiences of Central American youth who have attempted internal relocation before migrating internationally. Based on interviews and participant observation with Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran youth migrating through Mexico, this paper shows how youth from the Northern Countries of Central America turn to their domestic networks to escape labor exploitation and gang violence before undertaking international journeys. The paper further demonstrates how those domestic networks lead youth into contexts of poverty and violence similar to those they seek to escape, making their internal relocation a disappointment. The failure of their internal relocation attempts makes them turn to international migrant networks as their next option. This paper sheds light on the underexplored issue of internal migration among Central American youth and that migration's synergy with Central American youths’ migration to the United States. The paper finds that internal relocation is unsuccessful when the internal destination fails to resolve the issues from which youth are attempting to escape. This failure ultimately triggers their departure from their home country.

Coda

The coda reflects on contemporary migration crises in order to consider how nearly four decades of commitment to deterrence and criminalization have led to a robust policing and detention infrastructure that harms already vulnerable groups of people and resists oversight and reform. Over two million people were deported during President Obama’s time in office. As a result, hundreds of thousands were separated from their families, and most struggled to repay debts from migration and make a living in economies that have undergone privatization and deregulation. This final essay reflects on the recurrence of crises during the Obama administration by examining the arrivals of Central American youth and the new round of crises presented in the opening months of the Donald Trump administration. The coda concludes with a discussion of contemporary enforcement efforts in the Caribbean, noting that history continues with Haitians as a seemingly permanent exception.