SEATTLE, Washington — Migration from Latin America to the United States is largely misunderstood. Many believe that immigrants are seeking economic opportunity but fail to see that they are escaping violence and mistreatment and seeking refuge in the U.S. The Central American Women and Children Protection Act seeks to overcome violence against women and children, reform immigration patterns to the U.S. and improve the wellbeing of individuals in the Northern Triangle countries.
Violence and Poverty in the Northern Triangle
The Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) refers to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. In Honduras, 16.9% of people are living on $1.90 per day or less. Not far behind, 8.8% of people in Guatemala face the same struggle. Only 1.5% of people in El Salvador fall below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recognizes poor economies and violence as major factors driving immigration from Central America, especially among children. In 2011, Honduras was home to the world’s most murderous city, San Pedro Sula, where the homicide rate was 187 murders per 100,000 residents. The country as a whole had a homicide rate of 90 deaths per 100,000 people. El Salvador ranked second in Latin America, with 70 murders per 100,000 people. Although these rates have shifted since 2011, the countries remain some of the most violent in the world, especially for women. The average femicide rate worldwide is tripled in Guatemala. In El Salvador, the femicide rate is six times the global average and in Honduras, it’s 12 times the global average. Most women are killed by someone close like family members, husbands or partners. A majority of these murders are never “solved”, and perpetrators are rarely convicted.
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) surveyed immigrants en route to the U.S. in 2015. According to its data, 57% of Hondurans, 67% of Salvadorans and 33% of Guatemalans did not feel safe at home. Many were personally threatened by non-family members and regularly heard gunshots in their neighborhoods. Half of the respondents cited violence as one of the reasons they decided to leave their home country.
The Central American Women and Children Protection Act
Rep. Norma Torress and Rep. Ann Wagner introduced H.R. 2836 to the U.S. House in May 2019. A month later, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Bob Menendez introduced S. 1781 in the Senate. Both bills call for the U.S. to enter into bilateral agreements with the governments of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, which would enable the U.S. to assist these governments with addressing the violence in their communities. The Central American Women and Children Protection Act hopes to achieve three goals by redirecting funds, namely, recognizing areas of violence against women and children, assessing the nation’s criminal justice system and finding ways to prevent crimes against women and children. This bipartisan legislation currently has 24 co-sponsors in the Senate and 7 co-sponsors in the House.
In a press release for The Central American Women and Children Protection Act, Sen. Rubio remarks on the victim-centric approach that this bill takes to curb violence, citing improvements to the entire justice system and increased resources for survivors as key measures. Sen. Menendez notes that the United States has a responsibility to protect the vulnerable so that they do not feel pressured to flee and instead feel safe at home.
Potential Impact on Communities, Women and Children
In 2014, the immigration crisis came to the forefront as unaccompanied Central American children began arriving en masse at the U.S.-Mexico border. In response, the U.S. partnered with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala in the “Alliance for Prosperity”, spending $750 million while the Northern Triangle countries spent more than $5.4 billion. This funding went into development and violence-prevention strategies such as giving 300,000 Salvadoran households access to electricity and the introduction of youth programs to decrease homicide rates in at-risk communities. As a result of U.S. aid to the region, border-apprehensions declined significantly by 2017 and homicide rates plummeted by 42%, 23% and 13% in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, respectively.
Today, U.S. aid to the Northern Triangle is 0.035% of the federal budget, a 30% decrease in funding. Multiple senators and representatives from both parties continue to speak out against cuts to Central American programs. The Central American Women and Children Protection Act has the potential to remake the impact of the Alliance for Prosperity through increased funding for criminal justice reform, support services and youth programs in the most vulnerable communities.
– McKenna Black
Photo: Flickr