General Honors Program

The issue of immigration continues to be a critical issue as it has for the prior two decades. Despite less news coverage and stricter border enforcement since the outbreak of COVID-19 migrant caravans, most from Central America but also some from South America and Haiti, continue to cross Mexico, arriving at the U. S. Mexican border where they face confrontations with Mexican migration agents or U. S. border agents.  According to an October 27, 2021 article on Reuters, “The United States has registered record levels of migration this year, as border agents have apprehended or expelled more than 1.7 million migrants over the past 12 months.” The caravans continue despite stricter enforcement of immigration and asylum processes, pressure on Mexico, and agreements with the Northern Triangle countries to stop migrants from entering Mexico. 

The United States has experienced immigration from Mexico since the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo created a border between the two nations, splitting families and communities. However, it’s important to recognize that the majority of people coming north through Mexico in the migrant caravans for the past decades have come primarily from the Northern Triangle nations: Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Much of the rhetoric surrounding immigration, immigrants, and possible solutions ignores the reasons why immigrants from Central America are so determined to leave their home countries that they make long and dangerous trips to a country that seems intent to do whatever it takes to keep them out.

In this class, we will examine the historical roots of the conditions in Central America that have created the immigration crises of the 21st century.  Specifically, we will explore the impact of interventions by the United States in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala during the Cold War, asking what the connections between U. S. intervention and the current crisis are.