History of Guatemalan migrants in the United States

The U.S. had enacted the Hart-Cellar Act in 1965 which established a new 20,000 migrant limit per-country with preference to family reunification.

In 1990 the United States amended the Immigration Act, raising the number of admitted legal permanent residents from 500,000 to 700,000.

This increase is understandable given the current progressive immigration law in the U.S. at the time and the fact that during 1960 and 1996 the Guatemalan Civil War was erupting.

Guatemalan refugees became an important political and economic influence on seeking an end to the civil war, which finally came about in 1996.

In the 1996 peace accords, there was a free exchange of civilian land to favor the rise of corporate agribusinesses with the drop of prices of local agricultural products.

This is likely the result of political, social, and economic unrest caused by the Guatemalan Civil War raging during this period.

This change over time may be a combination of the Immigration Act of 1990, along with the civil war circumstances taking place in Guatemala, causing many migrants to flee the country.

Many Central Americans like Hondurans, Salvadorians, and Guatemalans are trying to reach the United States for political asylum.

Long history of civil war, genocide, and US intervention has all left its imprint on the current political environment of the country.

[13] The graph below shows that a majority of the granted citizenship for Guatemalans in 2016 was due in large part from family members.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security [14] In October 2017 a caravan of Central Americans started their 1,200 mile journey to the U.S.