Since late 2018, migrant caravans from Central America have attempted to reach the United States in hopes of gaining asylum. The latest caravan reportedly departed in mid-January 2020, but after threats of economic sanctions by President Donald Trump, the Mexican and Guatemalan governments stopped it before it could reach the American border.

As usual, the public reaction to the caravans was split. Some believe letting in migrants is the United States’ moral duty, while others think taking care of foreigners is not the country’s responsibility. Whether the U.S. has that responsibility or not, mass immigration is an issue that won’t go away any time soon.

For this reason, the migrant caravans should be stopped, but not by economic sanctions or tear gas. The United States government should help Central Americans create an independent international organization whose main objective would be to attack the problem at its core: fighting against corruption and violence.

To understand how the United States government can help, and why it should, we must first understand the root of the mass immigration problem.

While such large migrant caravans are a rare sight, the motives of those fleeing are nothing new. Migrants have said that they are seeking asylum in the United States due to the widespread and endemic corruption, poverty and violent and organized crime in their countries of origin.

These claims are not far from the truth, since Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are all among the top 10 countries with the highest murder rates, according to the UN’s 2019 Global Study on Homicide. Additionally, Transparency International found that all three countries suffer from a level of corruption that fosters organized crime and impunity.

Even if they were to reach the American border, it is unlikely that migrants would obtain refugee status. Asylum is granted to those who reach the U.S. and have reason to fear persecution due to their religious beliefs, race, nationality or any group affiliation. Their reasons to flee simply don’t meet the qualifications set by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which has caused many to be detained and deported.

In fact, the persistence of Central American migrants has only made the Trump administration more apathetic toward the movement, causing the president to pressure the Mexican, Guatemalan and Honduran governments to discourage migration and to break up caravans.

Accepting migrants into the country seems unrealistic and, arguably, undesirable due to the number of people the government would have to support. However, simply sending them back and leaving them alone will not solve the problem either.

Trump’s approach of coercion might be effective short-term, but if illegal immigration is to be stopped and if the migrants’ lives are to improve, the U.S. must go a step further than that.

Some people have proposed increasing foreign assistance in Central America to respond to the caravans, suggesting cutting it will worsen the issue, but there’s a reason behind the lack of measurable progress of foreign aid.

According to a report on foreign aid policy by the Congressional Research Service, foreign aid is not inherently intended to stop violence or corruption. Instead, its main objective is to promote political stability, to improve standards of living, such as health and education, and to further American interests. This means that in many countries, most of the money from foreign aid does not go toward the fight against corruption or economic development.

Currently, anti-corruption aid in Central America goes to programs that reinforce weak domestic institutions. However, even this use of foreign aid is not enough, as the funding is too limited, and corrupt leaders often interfere with such programs. For this reason, no matter how much money is spent, no significant economic growth or political stability will be seen with foreign aid alone.

Ultimately, in addition to foreign aid, the U.S. government should support Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to create an international non-governmental organization (INGO) that fights against violent and organized crime, drug trafficking and corruption.

The first step must come from the target countries in that civil society organizations in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador request help from the international community.

The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) is a good example of what such an organization can achieve. This U.N.-backed organization was so successful that it was able to push for the prosecution and imprisonment of Guatemala’s former president and vice president in 2015.

In order for the proposed INGO to be realized, it should work with similar international organizations, such as Transparency International, and follow the initial steps of the CICIG so as to not undermine the region’s sovereignty.

If Central American countries organize in the fight against these threats and create an independent INGO with U.N. or U.S. support, the mobilization of the public would be easier and more effective, and they would not depend on corrupt systems to fix these issues. This way, progress toward improving the quality of life would be much more tangible, encouraging migrants to participate in fixing their own country’s issues, rather than reinforcing their need to flee to an unwelcoming American frontier.

Gustavo Gutierrez can be reached at guti6327@stthomas.edu.