GENEVA
In March, a record number of children travelling alone entered the United States from Mexico irregularly, and the US federal agency tasked with preventing irregular migration carried out the most apprehensions at the country’s southern border in a single month for 15 years.
But far from being the main crisis in the region, the sharp uptick in numbers is a byproduct of humanitarian emergencies playing out in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador – collectively known as the Northern Triangle of Central America – where choosing to stay or leave is often a question of life and death, according to experts.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s exacerbation of pre-existing issues – including pervasive crime, high murder rates, government corruption, the effects of climate change, and economic hardship – has only increased the need for many in the region to migrate.