Central American Migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Central American Migration - Essay Example War, persecution, and violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua due to political upheavals spurred the mass migration of their citizens into the United States (Guierrez, 1960). The migration occurred in phases with the elites fleeing first followed by the professionals and the middle class and lastly the poor working class. Nicaraguan migrants went to the us in three waves with the first consisting of the overthrown Somoza family and their associates, wealthy business peoples and members of the National guard in 1970s followed by the middle class professionals and business people in the 1980s and lastly the poor workers and young men escaping recruitment in the contra war. Their flight unlike the Cubans was not welcomed by the American government who classified them as illegal aliens and used varied ways to try to stop their entry into United States. Even after conditions improved in their home countries many Central Americans did not return home due to a variety of reasons, the end of hostilities did not improve their security at home. In Nicaragua former contras and fragments of Sandinista army continued to fight especially in rural areas and in El Salvador and Guatemala death squads and vigilante groups also operated. (Guierrez, 1960). This coupled with increased crime rates reduced the number of immigrants willing to return home and led to many more Central Americans migrating to United States Depending on their social economic status, Central Americans used several strategies to survive in the harsh United States. Wealthy immigrants used their economic resources and business connections to buy assets in the United States on which they lived comfortably. Many exiles including the Somoza family transferred their assets to Miami banks in the; late 1970s and they moved into fashionable residences in key Biscayne and Brickell avenue where the invested heavily on condominiums in the suburban western edge of the city (Alenjandro, 1993). These were later t o be sold to Nicaraguan professionals and business people during the second wave of migration. This group experienced tough economic hardships on United States soil and the majority worked in unskilled trades to earn a daily living due to an uncertain future. The professionals gradually moved into their fields of work and some steadily advanced in professional capacity because of prior work experience in their country of origin. Professionals used existing friendships with Cuban Americans developed in school to get financing to start their own businesses (Alenjandro, 1993).The peasants and Nicaragua workers migrated chiefly due to war and economic hardships brought by war. Nicaraguan peasants and workers migrated because of the United States sponsored contra war and they became unskilled laborers in the host country. The decision by the United States to classify Nicaraguan immigrant’s illegal aliens exposed them to very many challenges because they did not receive any benefit s like their predecessors the Cubans despite their situations being the same. Finding jobs was exceedingly difficult and the few jobs available had very low wages. They had to