Migrants wait in an El Paso, Texas, detention facility on March 31. In an effort to curb rising illegal immigration from Central America, the Trump administration is considering limiting transfers of money from migrants working in the United States to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The U.S.-Mexico border has seen an influx of asylum seekers from Central America in recent years. The number of migrants apprehended or turned away at the border increased from about 17,000 in March 2017 to 100,000 this March. And while this figure is still well below where illegal immigration on the southern U.S. border was nearly two decades ago, it nonetheless presents a challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump by undermining the staunch immigration enforcement message that helped fuel his electoral victory in 2016. In an attempt to shore up support ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the Trump administration is now seeking to turn its campaign promises into policy — even if it means pursuing drastic measures. Currently, the most consequential proposal on the table is a move to stem the flow of remittances to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, or money migrant workers send back to their families.
