Deportations and the transnational roots of gang violence in Central America

Ambrosius, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105373

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Separating families, as deportations often imply; making migrants en route and at the border more vulnerable to human rights violations; and forcing migrants to return to communities where the drivers to emigrate continue to be present all are secure recipes for remigration attempts (Cardoso et al, 2016;Hiemstra, 2012Hiemstra, , 2019. Moreover, deportations of migrants with prior convictions or pending charges have fuelled violence in migrants' countries of origin (Ambrosius, 2021;Ambrosius & Leblang, 2020;Kalsi, 2018;Rozo et al, 2021;Sviatschi, 2022), and this violence has been an important driver of new waves of out-migration (Clemens, 2021). This explains why the deterrence effect of deportations seems to be rather weak (Orrenius, 2019) and may even be negative, creating more migration (Sviatschi, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the size of the undocumented migrant population may actually increase rather than diminish as a result of deportations (Kossoudji, 1992). On the other hand, recent research has shown that the deportation of migrants with prior convictions has led to a contagion of violent crime along deportation corridors (Ambrosius, 2021; Ambrosius & Leblang, 2020; Kalsi, 2018; Rozo et al., 2021; Sviatschi, 2022). This violence, in turn, has fuelled new waves of out‐migration (Clemens, 2021; Sviatschi, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forced returns fuel anti‐Americanism: Evidence from U.S. deportations to Latin America

Ambrosius

Meseguer

2023

Global Networks

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In the last two decades, forced removals have been the main feature of U.S. migration policy toward Latin America. In this research, we explore whether this policy has had implications in terms of Latin Americans’ public opinion toward their northern neighbor. We argue that deportations breed anti‐Americanism by cutting off the flow of information and money associated with emigration, which has proven to be a source of better dispositions toward the United States. Using public opinion data and municipal data on deportations in El Salvador, we show that these perceptions have worsened over time and that rates of deportation are related to this trend. By using public opinion data on Latin America and deportation rates in the region, we also show that this pattern holds beyond our case study. We call attention to destination migration policies as a source of resentment among domestic audiences, which can be capitalized by new populisms in the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forced returns fuel anti‐Americanism: Evidence from U.S. deportations to Latin America

Ambrosius

Meseguer

2023

Global Networks

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“…Finally, the article has helped expand our knowledge on the connection between transnational migration and criminal violence. For instance, one salient strand in the literature has addressed the role of deported immigrants and transnational dynamics in both the emergence and spread of street gangs in Central America (Ambrosius, 2021; Cruz, 2013; Winton, 2012). Likewise, recent research has looked into the relationship between violent democracies and transnational migration, drawing on the case of Mexico (López García, 2019; Pérez‐Armendáriz, 2021; Pérez‐Armendáriz and Duquette‐Rury, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As transnational migration constitutes a defining feature of society in Central America, there has been considerable research into its relationship with violence. A salient strand of the literature addresses the role of immigrants forcibly deported from the US in the diffusion of street gangs in the region and the transnational character of violence (Ambrosius, 2021; Cruz, 2013; Savenije, 2007; Winton, 2012). Existing literature has also examined other facets of the process, such as the roles of post‐conflict violence and economic hardship as drivers of transnational migration (Bergmann, 2019; Garni, 2010; Haaß et al., 2016; Jiménez, 2017; Marroquín Parducci, 2014).…”

Section: Migration and Transnational Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other analyses have explored the changing geographies of gangs' presence and territorial control (Segovia et al, 2016). Another strand of scholarship has examined the connection between transnational and domestic conditions in shaping contexts favourable to the expansion of maras and the strengthening of criminal governance (Ambrosius, 2021;Cruz, 2005Cruz, , 2013Zinecker, 2014). More recently, analyses have addressed the increasing concentration of organized violence and the role of informal agreements as the main drivers of the dramatic rise and fall, respectively, in homicide rates (Bergmann, 2020;International Crisis Group, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Containing Violence in El Salvador: Community Organization, Transnational Networks and State–Society Relations

Pinzón

2022

Development and Change

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Extant research has analysed the impact of security policies, truces and informal agreements on both the dynamics and traits of organized violence in El Salvador. However, less is understood about variation in the levels of lethal violence across subnational units. This article contributes to filling this gap. Based on a case study of the municipality of Chalatenango, the analysis shows that community organization and translocal dynamics are crucial to explaining violence containment. Local communities have managed to control the levels of lethal violence and deter criminal actors amid a national context characterized by state neglect and chronic violence. Community organization is not territorially bound but extends across transnational networks. Migrants are a source of livelihoods for the local population; they also contribute to providing public goods and participate in local forms of organization. Transnational networks have forged a migration corridor that enables immigration to the United States. In addition, community organization informally contributes to the capacity of the local state to perform its functions, thereby shaping cooperative state-society relations. This analysis sheds new light on the conditions shaping the variation in levels of violence at the subnational level and local governance dynamics.

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Climate-related migration and the climate-security-migration nexus in the Central American Dry Corridor

et al. 2023

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The Central American Dry Corridor (CADC) is among the most climate-vulnerable regions worldwide. Climate change, commonly referred to as a “threat multiplier” of pre-existing socioeconomic issues, already undermines rural livelihoods by reducing agricultural yields and income opportunities. This paper provides a review of climate-related migration in the CADC region while identifying the specific pathways by which climate change manifests itself as a threat multiplier to migration. Different forms of human mobility (seasonal/temporal/permanent and internal/international migration) are increasingly attempted as adaptation strategies by affected households to diversify incomes and offset climate impacts. Preferred intra-regional migrant destinations tend to be less climate-vulnerable and also less violent. Notably, climate change is not isolated from socioeconomic and political migration drivers. Erosion of rural livelihoods reduces the costs of engaging in illicit coping strategies (e.g., illegal crop production) and simultaneously favours rapid urbanisation, which is linked to (forced) gang recruitment, primarily affecting the youth. These processes contribute to extraordinarily high violence levels, which are a major push factor for migration on their own, ultimately challenging state authority. Moreover, as outmigration from the region is projected to increase, the observed securitisation of borders, particularly along the USA-Mexico border and the Mexico-Guatemala border, while unfit to limit migration attempts, make migration more desperate and dangerous, allowing organised crime to step in and exploit migration as an economic undertaking. Thus, for the CADC, the depoliticised and simplistic narrative of migration serving as adaptation must be questioned. Policy coherence and state capacity for addressing climate-security-migration nexus challenges are critical needs.

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Deportations and the transnational roots of gang violence in Central America

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

Forced returns fuel anti‐Americanism: Evidence from U.S. deportations to Latin America

Forced returns fuel anti‐Americanism: Evidence from U.S. deportations to Latin America

Containing Violence in El Salvador: Community Organization, Transnational Networks and State–Society Relations

Climate-related migration and the climate-security-migration nexus in the Central American Dry Corridor

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