Migrating from Central America to the US: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis of individual Experiences.

Overview: This paper explores the experiences of migrants coming from Central America to the US through the synthesis of qualitative research articles. A total of 11 studies were included in the analysis which found overarching themes related to decision to leave, perilous nature of the journey, and unexpected problems on arrival.Proposal text: Migration from Central America to the United States has increased steadily during the 21st century. Individuals who choose to leave their home countries to traverse to the United States are impacted by a social environment that influences their decision to flee. They are part of the millions of individuals that migrate to the United States in search of safety. Central Americans face unique challenges in migrating to the U.S. and may put their lives in dangerous positions to do so. Most of the people leaving El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras do so to escape the massive violence caused by rampant organized crime--mostly drug-related activities--and action by violent youth gangs known as maras, whose members number in the thousands. Migrants from the Northern Triangle also seek human development opportunities and the income not available to them at home. Multiple researchers have explored the experiences of migrants coming to the United States; however, a systematic gathering of this qualitative research has not been completed. This study seeks to systematically find qualitative research on the experiences of migrants coming to the U.S. from Central America to synthesize the findings. The goal is to create a synthesis of understanding from the perspectives of those who have undertaken this journey to the U.S. from Central American countries.
This study sought to synthesize literature utilizing the Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS) approach. The QIMS approach was initially introduced by Aguirre and Bolton and has been used by multiple researchers over the past decade to expand understanding over a broad array of topics. The QIMS method systematically searches for qualitative work, synthesizes the results, and creates a larger interpretation of the data from this analysis. The inclusion criteria for this research were peer reviewed journal articles or dissertations, written in English or Spanish, included perspectives of immigrants from Central America, sampled individuals who had migrated to the U.S., and were qualitative studies. A thorough review of the identified articles left 11 for inclusion in the analysis. Analysis of the 11 articles included for the synthesis identified three major overarching themes: motivation to leave, perilous journey, and the expected and the unexpected. Subthemes included topics such as opportunity, gender-based violence, US immigration, courage and perseverance. Topics related to work, education, family, and racism are discussed. The decision and journey to migrate is rarely easy. Whether they leave their loved ones behind or jointly migrate with them, reaching the U.S. represents a chance to provide for themselves while escaping the dire, violent, and impoverished conditions in their home countries. Macro level policy initiatives that examine U.S. immigration and Central American biosocial aspects related to the choice to leave are examined. Preparation in social work education for working with this population is discussed including aspects of cultural humility and language barriers that must be addressed.