Migrations Funnel Effect from Central to North America

by Carlos J. Guizar

The issue of undocumented immigration from Central America and

Mexico to the United States has led to another humanitarian crisis
due to the funnel effect starting at the weak southern Mexican border
and finishing at the well-protected southern US border. Between
October 1, 2013 and May 31 of this year, American authorities have
apprehended over 47,000 unaccompanied children and youth
attempting to illegally cross the U.S. border.
The issue of undocumented immigration from Central America and Mexico to the United States has
led to another humanitarian crisis due to the funnel
effect starting at the weak southern Mexican border
and finishing at the well-protected southern US border. Between October 1, 2013 and May 31 of this year,
American authorities have apprehended over 47,000
unaccompanied children and youth attempting to
illegally cross the U.S. border.
The humanitarian crisis has arisen due to the sudden
arrival of thousands of unaccompanied children that
has overpopulated shelters and detention centres, neither of which have the facilities or sufficient personnel to properly care for the minors who have waited
weeks to be deported. The children were encouraged
by their parents to move to the US firstly because it
seemed that immigration reform was about to be
approved and secondly due to the misunderstanding
that unaccompanied minors would not be deported by
the American government.

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According to a comparison made by the Pew Hispanic

Center (2014), we can better comprehend the size of
the crisis by contrasting previous detention numbers
with those from Fiscal Year 2009. Apprehensions vary
depending on the nationality of the minors; there was
a 707 per cent increase in detained Salvadorans, a 930
per cent increase in Guatemalans, a 1,272 per cent
increase in Hondurans, and a decrease of 28 per cent
in Mexicans. Furthermore, in under a year, apprehensions of children aged 12 years and younger increased
117 per cent, in contrast to the 12 per cent increase of
minors between 12 and 17 years.
Therefore, along with other questions, one that
should be asked is how it has been possible for 9,850
Salvadorans, 11,479 Guatemalan, and 13,282 Hondurans, all underage, to illegally cross the Mexican
border and travel all the way to the U.S.?
Despite the gravity of this particular humanitarian
crisis, it is a permanent reality that has been happening for decades and that starts in the immigrants
home countries due to the lack of opportunities,
emigration traditions within their communities and
families, insecurity, violence, organised crime groups,
and childrens desire to join their parents in the U.S.
However, for children, youngsters, and adults alike,
being apprehended is not the only concern awaiting them at the end of the 3,000-kilometer through
Mexico. Their worries begin when many of them pay
between $5,000 and $10,000 U.S. Dollars to human
smugglers, nicknamed polleros, for them to arrange
their undocumented trip to the U.S. They travel on a
train known as The Beastit continually derails due
to poor maintenance and because of the thousand
plus immigrants that make each trip atop it. Additionally, they may have to face other hazards such as
kidnappers, corrupt authorities, or organised crime
organisationsaccording to Washington Office on
Latin America (WOLA), over 20,000 Central American
immigrants are abducted in Mexico each year (Castillo, 2014).

Winter 2014 Issue Seventeen

The funnel effect

Now that we have better understood the dimensions
of the Central and North American migration to the
U.S., we still need to go further in order to answer the
main question: how does the funnel effect work? As
migrants have a wide range of possibilities to cross
to and to go through Mexico but very few chances to
enter the United States, there is a funnel effect that
starts at the Mexico-Central American border and
finishes at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mexico shares a 1,200 kilometre border with Guatemala and Belize, with eight and one official crossing
points respectively; however, there are at least 350
unofficial crossings just from Guatemala. Despite
the number of unofficial crossings, in 2013, 85,000
Central Americans were deported to their home
countries by the Mexican authorities (Ferriz, 2014),
nearly 10,000 more than in 2012 and 27,000 more than
in 2011 (INAMI, 2012). Nevertheless, these efforts do
not seem to be enough to deal with Latin American
immigration to Mexico.

Despite the graveness of this

particular humanitarian crisis, it is
a permanent reality that has been
happening for decades and that starts
in the immigrants home countries.

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Carlos Guizar (MPP class of

2009) is author of Transicin
democrtica y poltica social
en Mxico and has written
over 40 articles in Mexico,
Germany and Uruguay. He
has worked as a lecturer, a
speechwriter to the National
Executive Committee of the
PAN, a member of Mexican
Delegations to the UN and IPU,
and as advisor to the Mexican
Congress and the Mexican
Ambassador to China.

On the other hand, the U.S.-Mexico border has 54

border entries, and the U.S. has put up a 560-kilometre wallplans exist to expand it to 1,200 kilometres
in order to fence in more than three quarters of the
3,000-kilometre border but these plans have been
postponed since the Bush administration. Additionally, if the Senate's Gang of 8 immigration reform is
ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S.
billion
U.S.dollars
dollars
government would have to invest $30
$30,000
U.S.
in the next ten years in order to hire nearly 20,000
extra border patrol agents (Gold, 2013).

In order to diminish the funnel effect from Central

America and Mexico to the U.S. and to prevent future
These examples make it is easier to see how walls humanitarian crises, joint international policies
can intensify a migration funnel effect in Central taking into account regional circumstances must be
and North America due to unequal border conditions implemented. Firstly, these should tackle the causes
and requirements between the South and the North. that force or motivate emigrants to leave their comMexico has a border resembling a wall with nooks and munities by creating more development opportunicrannies, while the U.S. has a border with a tall wall, ties and reducing crime and violence levels in Central
strong security measures and thousands of border America. Secondly, they should improve the condipatrol officers. Therefore, Central Americans and tions at the southern Mexican border to disincentive
Mexicans who travel illegally to the United States have immigrants from illegally crossing to Mexico and, as
to face the end of the funnel because, in comparison the Mexican Government has recently proposed, give
to all of those who leave their hometowns, just a few temporary working visas to Guatemalans so that they
are able to achieve their goal of immigrating to the can travel safely. Finally, the Mexican government
U.S.
needs to find more effective mechanisms for locating
and deporting immigrants to their home countries as
Walls are not the answer
soon as they enter Mexico while also ensuring their
Even though the Mexican government recently imple- human rights, as the National Institute of Immigramented the Southern Border Program to enhance bor- tion (INAMI) does not have the human and economic
der security measures and to promote more coopera- resources or the capacity to effectively accomplish
tion with Central American governments, it may not its responsibilities. Otherwise, the crisis may soon
be enough to protect the integrity and human rights become a Mexican humanitarian crisis and not only
of immigrants.
an American one.
References

In order to diminish the funnel

effect from Central America and
Mexico to the U.S. and to prevent
future humanitarian crises, joint
international policies taking
into account regional circumstances
have to be implemented.
26

KROGSTAD, J. & GONZALEZ-BARRERA, A. (2014): Number

of Latino children caught trying to enter U.S. nearly doubles
in less than a year. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center,
2014/06.
CASTILLO, G. (2014): PF, la dependencia implicada en ms
abusos contra migrantes, denuncia Wola. La Jornada, 2014/07.
FERRIZ, P. (2014): Reconoce EU esfuerzos de Mxico en crisis
de nios migrantes. Ferriz.com.mx, 2014/07.
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE MIGRACION INAMI (2012):
Sntesis 2012, estadstica migratoria Mxico, DF: Secretara
de Gobernacin.
GOLD, M. (2013): Immigration Deal Would Boost Defense
Manufacturers. The Washington Post, from the online
edition, 2013/07.

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