Protection Issues - Refugee Research in Context

This point of entry draws attention to the conditions and abuses faced by Central American migrants on their journey towards the American border as well as the challenges many of them face in obtaining asylum. It outlines the predatory nature of organized crime, dysfunctional enforcement measures, and corrupt authorities.

The New Wave: Forced Displacement Caused by Organized Crime in Central America
David James Cantor
2014

This article categorizes organized criminal activity within the Northern Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador) and Mexico into three categories, and discusses their roles in perpetuating forced displacement and abusing migrant populations. It also draws attention to the importance of conceptualizing criminal organization in ways that move beyond a unitary categorization. In other words, understanding the different operating methodologies of each group (street gangs, transporters, cartels) and their subsequent influence on the levels of violence and migration. For example, this can help to understand the distinction between migration caused by “everyday” criminal operation and those onset by sporadic violence between criminal groups. It also highlights how these groups evolve and respond to change, and the consequences of such changes.

Report : Forced to Flee Central America’s Northern Triangle
Medecins Sans Frontieres
2017

This publication assesses the conditions and victimization facing migrants during their transit as well as providing recommendations on how to improve the available services.

Humanitarian Protection for Children Fleeing Gang-Based Violence in the Americas
Elizabeth Carlson and Anna Marie Gallagher
2015

This paper provides an overview of violence within Central America as well as of American and International Law regarding underage refugees. In the US context, it focuses specifically on the law regarding unaccompanied (UAC) or special immigrant juvenile status’ (SIJS). It concludes with a discussion of the difficulties surrounding asylum claims based on gang persecution.

‘Like a War’ : The New Central American Refugee Crisis
Noelle Brigden
2012

Outlines the persecution of migrants by organized crime in both their countries of origin and within Mexico. It points to the phenomenon of “perpetual immigrant status,” in the sense that many Central Americans who flee their countries experience a kind of limbo: unable to reach the United States and unwilling to return to their country of origin.