Note: Although CGD is not mentioned by name, the article hyperlinks Michael Clemens' working paper, "Violence, Development and Migration Waves: Evidence from Central American Child Migrant Apprehensions - Working Paper 459"
By Christian Ambrosius and David Leblang
The Trump administration’s deportation policies and rhetoric have been controversial. The family separation policy, the zero tolerance policy, the language tagging immigrants as “animals” all appear to be trying to reduce the number of illegal immigrants, asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors who come to the United States.
...
Why are so many people from Latin America attempting to enter the United States? Although some want to be reunified with their families or hope to find better economic opportunities, the vast majority of unauthorized migrants and asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border are escaping from widespread violence. Many flee Central America’s so-called Northern Triangle — Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala — which are among the most violent places on Earth, with homicide rates approaching that of the world’s most deadly war zones. A large number of unaccompanied Central American minors arriving at the U.S. border since 2014 are trying to escape either being killed or forced into a gang.
Read the full article here.