Why was the United States caught completely unprepared for the Central American refugee crisis during the summer of 2014? Although thousands of unaccompanied children from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador streamed across the southwest U.S. border in unprecedented numbers, the systemic problems plaguing the region stem back decades, and recent data clearly shows a trend of increasing yearly migration flows to the United States from these countries. Even in the face of the crisis, the U.S. government’s response was targeted more towards mitigating the symptoms of the crisis while insufficiently addressing its underlying causes. This is largely due to U.S. domestic policy, which undermines and conflicts with sound foreign policy. By focusing attention and resources on domestically popular foreign aid programs—primarily security initiatives and drug interdiction—rather than on programs to address the underlying, systemic causes of the crisis, like rampant corruption, lack of rule of law, and extreme poverty, U.S. policy-makers worked against their own best interests. As a result, the number of migrants crossing the U.S. southwestern border is once again rising rapidly. U.S. domestic and foreign policy must be reconciled to ensure that now and in the future, the root causes of migration crises are dealt with once and for all.

The Northern Triangle area made up by El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras faces a growing gang phenomenon responsible for the growth of violence and instability in the region. Many factors have contributed to the rise of gangs in the region, however, I argue that the deportation of Central American immigrants who became active gang members in the United States play a significant role in the growth of gangs. I analyze the impact of the lack of collaboration between the United States and the nations of the Northern Triangle, especially in the lack of reintegration programs and the other factors that could have influenced or spurred the escalation of gang activity such as a failed recovery process following the civil wars of the 1970s and 1980s and the state repression policies. Furthermore, I assess how the lack of collaboration between the United States and Northern Triangle region in the deportation of criminal immigrants has impacted the transnationalization of the two largest Central American gangs, Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18. Due to the lack of quantitative data on gang size and membership, I conduct my analysis utilizing various studies that have been conducted in the three nations and data regarding homicide and deportation rates. Ultimately, I find that while the U.S. deportees played an important role in altering the characteristics and nature of Central American gangs, a variety of other factors were significant in their growth. Additionally, I find their assignation as Transnational Criminal Organizations premature and inconclusive due to their weak organizational and communication structure. Finally, I question whether gangs are truly the cause of high levels of violence in each of the nations of the Northern Triangle, determining that the Central American gang phenomenon cannot be assessed or treated as a singular issue. Instead, it is imperative to acknowledge the conditions at play in each country.

[pt] O Triângulo Norte da América Central é composto por El Salvador, Honduras e Guatemala. Esses países compartilham um histórico de desigualdades socioeconômicas, violência e intervenções estrangeiras em seus territórios. Intensos fluxos emigratórios são registrados nesses países, com seus nacionais buscando chegar aos Estados Unidos percorrendo o território mexicano, razão pela qual consideramos esses quatro países como uma região de emigração, devido aos fluxos neles originados e atravessados. Essas migrações geralmente ocorrem de maneira forçada e em fluxos maciços. Consoante à mobilidade, ocorre um processo de contenção desses migrantes por parte dos Estados Unidos, que desenvolve mecanismos físicos e políticos para impedir a entrada dessas pessoas em seu território, além de imporem políticas migratórias e fronteiriças ao México e aos países do Triângulo Norte da América Central para impedirem os fluxos de chegarem em sua fronteira. Assim sendo, percebemos esses quatro países como uma região de fronteira que se traduz em região de i-mobilidade migratória, pois nela ocorrem dois processos concomitantes, o de trânsito e o de controle do mesmo. Nesta dissertação, investigamos a violência como elemento deflagrador dessas migrações e como ela atinge os sujeitos migrantes ao longo de seu percurso à Terra Prometida, os Estados Unidos. Analisaremos as migrações ocorridas entre 2018 e 2021, com foco nas caravanas de migrantes centro-americanos, apresentando as inovações de sua organização e o perfil demográfico daqueles que as integraram, bem como as medidas tomadas pelos Estados Unidos e México para impedir essa mobilidade. / [en] The Northern Triangle of Central America is composed by El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. These countries share a history of socioeconomic inequalities, violence, and foreign interventions in their territories. Intense emigration flows are recorded in these countries, with their nationals seeking to reach the United States by traveling through Mexican territory, in what we consider these four countries as a region of emigration, due to the flows originating and crossing through them. These migrations usually occur in a forced way and in massive flows. The United States develops physical and political mechanisms to prevent these people from entering its territory and imposes migration and border policies to Mexico and to the countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America to prevent the flows from reaching its borders. Thus, we perceive these four countries as a border region that translates into a region of migratory i-mobility, because two concomitant processes occur there, that of transit and that of control of it. In this dissertation, we investigate violence as a triggering element of these migrations and how it affects the migrant subjects along their journey to the Promised Land, the United States. We will analyze the migrations that occurred between 2018 and 2021, focusing on the Central American migrant caravans, presenting the innovations of their organization and the demographic profile of those who integrated them, as well as the measures taken by the United States and Mexico to prevent this mobility.

[pt] As Américas estão passando pela maior crise de refugiados da história, sendo caracterizada pela elevada presença de crianças desacompanhadas em migração. Este trabalho busca realizar um estudo comparativo entre as políticas de acolhimento para esse grupo, considerando refugiados venezuelanos no Brasil e do Triângulo Norte da América Central nos EUA. Examinou-se se os processos de acolhida e suas aplicações são inclusivos e adequados a recepção de menores desacompanhados, à luz das diretrizes de organismos de referência na área. Este estudo conclui que os processos de acolhida brasileiros almejam ser receptivos e inclusivos, seguindo o princípio do melhor interesse da criança. No entanto, os procedimentos carecem maior robustez e estrutura para serem eficazes. Enquanto isso, as políticas de acolhimento nos EUA são mais amadurecidas e possuem os recursos necessários para sua implementação. Entretanto, o acolhimento é hostil, assemelhando-se ao processo de detenção, não havendo distinção institucional clara entre a proteção da criança refugiada e o controle de fronteiras / [en] The Americas are experiencing the worst refugee crisis in history, characterized by the elevated presence of unaccompanied children. This work seeks to conduct a comparative study between reception policies for this group, considering Venezuelans in Brazil and nationals from the Northern Triangle of Central America in the USA. It was examined whether the reception processes and their applications are inclusive and adequate for unaccompanied minors, in light of the guidelines of reference organizations in the area. This study concludes that the Brazilian reception process aims to be receptive and inclusive, following the principle of the best interest of the child. However, the procedures lack more robustness and structure to be effective. Reception policies in the US are more mature and have the resources available for implementation. However, the reception is hostile, similar to the detention process, with no institutional distinction between refugee child protection and border control.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:48:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Mortari Araujo Correa.pdf: 1838397 bytes, checksum: 6861111ef03c826f74df72c0ab83180d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Maras and pandillas are terms usually employed in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras which jointly comprise the so-called Central America Northern Triangle with regard to street gangs, whose members are traditionally youngsters (and mostly men) and share a common identity, which can range from the use of specific forms of communication and cultural expression (including slangs, body gestures, tattoos, graffiti on walls and musical rhythms) to the enforcement of rigorous standards of conduct. The expansion of these groups throughout the region, and its accountability for the growth of violence in big cities have been prompting the adoption of not only domestic measures, but also international ones, which consequently involves both Central American authorities and institutions from other countries, such as the United States. Based on this finding, it is questioned, in this research, what the interest of the United States is in combating street gangs out of its borders, considering that this is commonly seen as a public security problem concerning the state in which territory such groups operate. Through the hypothetical-deductive method, and by the consultation with official reports and other American governmental sources besides the specific literature on gangs in the Northern Triangle and on the recent history and current context of the region , at least four hypothesis are tested, which refer to the United States possible perception that the gangs I) are (or are willing to be) tied to groups seen as terrorists; II) have a significant participation on the international illicit drug trade, even in collaboration with great cartels of the region; III) are transnational organized crime groups, capable of coordinating crimes on American soil with their peers established there; and that IV) the violence concerning gangs in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras feeds migratory fluxes (including the migration of mareros and pandilleros) from these countries towards the United States, something which would not be desired by the latter. Discussions on new and newest wars, in the context of the expansion of the International Security Studies, are adopted as the theoretical framework, especially in reference to the performance of states in the combat of non-traditional threats / Maras e pandillas são termos usualmente empregados em El Salvador, Guatemala e Honduras que, juntos, compõem o chamado Triângulo Norte da América Central em referência a gangues de rua, cujos membros são tradicionalmente jovens (e, em sua maioria, do sexo masculino) e compartilham de uma identidade comum, o que pode incluir desde o uso de formas de comunicação e expressão cultural específicas (entre gírias, gestos corporais, tatuagens, grafites em muros e ritmos musicais) até a aplicação de rigorosas normas de conduta. A expansão desses grupos pela região e sua responsabilização pela escalada da violência nas grandes cidades têm incitado a adoção de medidas não só domésticas, mas, também, internacionais, envolvendo, por conseguinte, tanto autoridades centro-americanas como instituições de outros países, como os Estados Unidos. Com base nessa constatação, questiona-se, nesta pesquisa, qual é o interesse dos Estados Unidos em atuar no combate a gangues de rua fora de suas fronteiras, considerando que isso é comumente visto como um problema de segurança pública do Estado em cujo território tais grupos operam. Através do método hipotético-dedutivo e a partir da consulta a relatórios oficiais e outras fontes do governo estadunidense além da literatura específica sobre as gangues no Triângulo Norte e sobre a história recente e contexto atual da região , testam-se ao menos quatro hipóteses, que se referem à possível percepção dos Estados Unidos de que as gangues I) têm ou almejam ter vínculos com grupos tidos como terroristas; II) atuam de forma expressiva no tráfico internacional de drogas, inclusive em cooperação com grandes cartéis da região; III) são grupos transnacionais do crime organizado, capazes de coordenar delitos em solo estadunidense com seus pares lá estabelecidos; e que IV) a violência concernente às gangues em El Salvador, Guatemala e Honduras fomenta fluxos migratórios (inclusive de mareros e pandilleros) desses países em direção aos Estados Unidos, algo indesejado pelos últimos. Adotam-se como matriz teórica as discussões acerca das novas e novíssimas guerras, dentro do contexto de expansão dos Estudos de Segurança Internacional, em referência especialmente à atuação de Estados no combate a ameaças não tradicionais

Latin America has experienced a new militarization in the last five years despite its history filled with military dictatorships and authoritarian governments. Due to their high rates of violence and crime worldwide, the countries with the most severe militarization process are Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Therefore, this work seeks to find the relationship between the militarization of public security in the four countries.  To address the research question posed by this study, a mixed methodology based on quantitative and qualitative data was employed in conjunction with the theoretical framework of policy diffusion, a subdiscipline of International Relations that has gained relevancy for the past two decades. The findings indicated that a diffusion process occurred in multiple dimensions, first involving the United States and stemming from the interaction between the four countries. Furthermore, this work discusses the relationship between the diffusion process among the four countries with international norms.