Unaccompanied Child Migration: An analysis of Poverty and Violence in Nicaragua and Honduras.

沒人陪伴的兒童移民：由貧窮與安全檢視尼加拉瓜及宏都拉斯之案例

Elaine Martínez Fernández

《拉丁美洲經貿季刊》 28期 (2017/03) Pp. 83-125

摘要

This paper studies the case of Children from Nicaragua and Honduras migrating unaccompanied to the United States (U.S). Rather than merely describing the primary characteristics of the current migration trends between these countries and the U.S., it also assesses the historical and social context within which they have been initiated. This implied the incorporation of a historicized and multi-scaled analytical perspective that has been adopted throughout the research. The paper, therefore, focuses more on the expelling factors in both Nicaragua and Honduras and somehow -but to a lesser extent- explores the attracting factors of the U.S. It was also important to analyze in some detail the policies these countries have adopted throughout the years that may, in fact, have contributed to migration in the past and may be affecting the current child migration dynamics that has now erupted in the region. After pointing out how some major factors such as poverty and violence contributed to the current child migration crisis, the research emphasizes that family reunification remains one of the main driving factors of out-migration towards the U.S. that needs to be addressed. Additionally, the paper stresses that child migration from the northern triangle of Central America to the U.S. is occurring in a high volume; nevertheless, this dynamic should not be considered as a single issue affecting these three countries. Instead, the issue should be seen as part of a wider process of social change that involves and affect the region as a whole.

關鍵字

Child migration ； poverty ； violence ； Nicaragua ； Honduras ； United States