Testing the Violence Hypothesis: Untangling Motives for Migration and Non-migration among Salvadoran Youth

• In Event: The Criminology of Migration and Mobilities: Global and Local Challenges

Abstract

This presentation will address the unaccompanied-youth migration phenomenon from El Salvador. It will be based on research using mixed-methods design. Uniquely, it will survey Salvadoran youth on migration decision-making processes and will interview individuals who have migrated unsuccessfully, re-migrated, never migrated, or migrated only internally. While principal data-collection will take place in El Salvador, we will build into the design opportunities to interview successful migrants in the United States and/or Mexico. We are interested in critically examining certain assumptions about the Salvadoran unaccompanied-youth migration experience. Chief is the assertion that violence is a chief motivating factor of mass out-migration. We would like to more critically reflect on this assertion by examining what kind or kinds of violence might operate on the decision-making process, i.e. actual physical violence and/or the threat of violence. We are interested in examining what other variables might moderate the effect of violence as a catalyst for migration and will examine the extent to which interactions of variables may catalyze the migration decision. This knowledge will help to better understand the Salvadoran youth migration phenomenon and help lead to more insightful policy options to address it.

Authors

• Robert Donnelly, RTI International

• Wayne Pitts, RTI International

• Kelle Barrick, RTI International

• Deborah Gibbs, RTI International

• Pamela Lattimore, RTI International