Reinforcing Push Factors in the Northern Triangle: An Investigation of Trump’s Attempts to Deter Immigration through Humanitarian Aid Reduction

Abstract

The Northern Triangle of Central America has long been a major source of immigration to the United States. In April of 2019, the Trump Administration announced its intentions to freeze U.S. foreign aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in an overall strategy to punish the Central American nations and encourage them to employ their own immigration deterrence methods. However, concerns persisted regarding whether ending funding for humanitarian aid projects would effectively mitigate migration, when oftentimes these programs serve to lessen prominent push factors in the Northern Triangle and encourage reinvestment in local communities. After a thorough literature review of the related academic field and an examination of the root causes influencing the intense push factors in the NTCA, diverse stories from stakeholders present an overarching view of the impacts of President Trump’s aid policies. Interviews with migrants and aid beneficiaries, excerpts from Central American newspapers, conversations with aid workers, and statements from U.S. politicians point to the negative repercussions of aid reduction. Human perspectives of individuals closest to the situation describe the intensification of push factors without the support of USAID funding. Overall, despite attempts to use deterrence immigration policy to reduce migration, the Trump Administration failed to acknowledge the power of regional push factors, ultimately reinforcing them by reducing the power of USAID projects to locally manage concerns.