Skip to main content

Return and Reintegration in the Northern Triangle of Central America

Countries
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
Region
Central and North America and the Caribbean
Status
Past activities
Start and End Date
1 April 2016 – 30 June 2019

Donors

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Partners

  • El Salvador: Directorate of Immigration; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Justice and Security; Salvadoran Institute for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents; Salvadoran Institute for Professional Training; National Registration of Persons; National Council for Children and Adolescents; Ministry of Health; and Ministry of Education.
  • Guatemala: Latin American Faculty of Social Science; Social Welfare Secretariat; Directorate of Migration; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; First Lady’s Department of Welfare Works; Technical Institute for Training and Productivity; and Guatemalan Red Cross.
  • Honduras: Care Center for Returning Migrant; National Institute of Migration; Honduran Secretariat of Foreign Affairs; Directorate Children, Youth and Family; and International Committee of the Red Cross.

Contact Info

  • Natalia Zepeda, Oficial Nacional de Proyecto El Salvador (National Project Liaison), nzepeda@iom.int
  • José Diego Cárdenas, Oficial Nacional de Proyecto Guatemala (National Project Liaison), jdcardenas@iom.int
  • Cecilia Ganoza, Oficial Nacional de Proyecto Honduras (National Project Liaison), cganoza@iom.int
  • Claudette Walls, Project Coordinator (Regional), cwalls@iom.int

The program tackles fundamental reintegration needs of returning families and unaccompanied children to break the cycle of migration.

Activities include psychosocial support, school reintegration for children and humanitarian aid for all returning migrants. The program also helps strengthen the capacity of institutions and local governments to improve services for returning migrants and provides assistance to upgrade returned migrant facilities. USAID and IOM also improve the availability, quality and use of information to strengthen reception and reintegration processes to prevent remigration.

In addition to immediate services provided upon return, the program establishes centers in municipalities with high out-migration that offer job training, life skills and other services for returnees. New community centers, athletic fields and parks are helping to reduce violence and build a sense of community that provides an incentive for returnees to stay. A communications strategy provides information on reintegration services available for returnees.

The program also conducts public awareness campaigns on the risks of illegal immigration and holds workshops on migration and reintegration, including a migration education module that is being piloted in the public school system. To understand drivers of illegal immigration, the program supported the Violence against Children Survey in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which provides information on the prevalence of violence against children and its nexus with migration.

Attachment Size
Factsheet 213.11 KB