By “Central Americans”, I mean individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - but not Nicaraguans. Before I get started, let’s look at some numbers:
Per the above, about a third of US asylum-seekers in 2017 were from three small countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This is especially the case for “defensive” asylum-seekers - that is, those who are defending themselves in immigration court, because they were denied asylum by an immigration official, caught trying to cross the border illegally, or for some other reason.
What are the “push” and “pull” factors driving these Central Americans? The following chart contains some clues:
Unfortunately, the Police Corruption Index didn’t rank El Salvador and Nicaragua, so here are some qualitative descriptions instead:
“Sources indicate that there is corruption among the National Civil Police (PNC) and that the police force has been infiltrated by criminal organizations. The Global Corruption Barometer 2013 [1], by Transparency International (TI), notes that 87 percent of respondents declared that the PNC was "corrupt/extremely corrupt," and 18 percent said they had paid a bribe to PNC officers.” https://www.justice.gov/eoir/country/el-salvador-contents
“There is a high risk of corruption when dealing with the Nicaraguan police. Over half of firms report paying for private security. A perception exists that police officers act with impunity because of corruption, inefficiency and a lack of transparency in the judicial system. Companies cannot rely on Nicaragua’s police to protect them from crime, theft, and disorder.” https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/nicaragua/
So why are the Nicaraguans staying put? They’ve got inequality, poverty, and corruption up the yin-yang. But then there’s their murder rate - the lowest in Central America (and that includes Costa Rica). Why is it so low, especially compared to the homicide rates in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras? Here’s one explanation:
“In the early 1990s, many young men with gang affiliations were deported from the United States back to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Gang activity skyrocketed. In response, those countries doubled down on “mano dura” policing — the phrase means “hard hand” — that swept generations of people into prisons….[In contrast] Nicaragua’s decision to create alternative policing models did much to avoid a similarly violent surge. Between 2014 and 2016, Nicaragua even released 80 percent of its prison population and the murder rate declined further still.” What Explains Nicaragua’s Surprisingly Low Murder Rate? The Boston Globe, January 12, 2018
Again: what are the main “push” and “pull” factors driving El Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans to seek asylum in the US? The Push: fear. The Pull: safety. Something to think about.