Geographic and Spatial Assimilation of Immigrants from Central America's Northern Triangle

Abstract

With declines in migration from Mexico, the countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) – El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala – are now responsible for some of the largest increases in the population density of Latinos in the United States. Using data from the 5‐year estimates of the 2016 American Community Survey and the Atlas of Rural and Small‐Town America, this article provides a spatial framework for settlement among NTCA immigrants in America. Findings illustrate that, unlike previous streams of Latino migration, which tended to be more agriculturally driven, NTCA immigrants are likely to choose settlement destinations in densely populated counties which support manufacturing rather than those which are farming dependent. We also find that while NTCA communities are predominant in new destinations like Prince Georges and Montgomery counties Maryland, they are also dominant in older Latino destinations like Harris County, Texas and Los Angeles county, California.

Legacies of Marginalization: System Avoidance among the Adult Children of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States

“…In addition, examining one ethnic group addresses some concerns about ethnic variation in cultural patterns of institutional interaction. It is potentially problematic to group Hispanics together and treat them as a single ethnicity, as there is wide variety in origin country, push factors, and migration paths that may influence patterns of social integration and institutional participation (Obinna and Field 2019). While authorized and unauthorized Mexican immigrants likely have very different experiences and characteristics, focusing on the children of immigrants from just one country holds constant some of the structural and historic factors that contribute to outmigration.…”

Family separation and transnational fathering practices for immigrant Northern Triangle families

“…The region has one of the highest rates of homicide in the world, influenced in large part by two large transnational criminal organizations (18th street, or M-18, and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13). Obinna and Field (2019) identified sizable Salvadoran communities in Maryland, Virginia, and New York; growing Guatemalan populations distributed across Texas, California, and Florida; and Honduran families emerging in Florida, California, and Virginia. It is estimated that one-third of the Salvadoran population and 10%-15% of the Guatemalan population (Moran- Taylor, 2008) reside in the United States.…”

Seeking Sanctuary: Violence Against Women in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala

“…In 2014, the governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala unveiled the Alliance for Prosperity (APP), a coordinated initiative to address the reasons for mass emigration and respond to the root causes of displacement. The Presidents of the NTCA countries requested $2.6 billion in aid from the United States, first under President Obama and now under President Trump, to energize social and economic development and discourage emigration from the NTCA (Obinna & Field, 2019; Orozco, 2017).…”

“…Operating with impunity, maras employ sexual violence as a strategy to maintain control over territories. Rape is widespread and is often employed as a strategy to discipline girls and their families for failure to comply with the demands of the gang (Farah, 2013; Menjívar & Drysdal Walsh, 2017; Obinna & Field, 2019). In UNHCR interviews, Nelly, a young woman from Honduras, stated thatThe gangs treat women worse than men.…”

“…As part of a massive forced migration flow through one of the world’s most impoverished territories, an estimated 500,000 people cross the border between Mexico and Guatemala every year (Martínez, 2018; Obinna, 2019; Obinna & Field, 2019). Most of these migrants come from a region known as the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) which comprises the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.…”