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Archive for the ‘Honduras’ Category

Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America

July 31, 2012 Comments off

Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America (PDF)
Source: Bread for the World Institute

Immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras sent home more than $10 billion in remittances in 2011— almost all of it from the United States. Remittances comprised 17 percent of GDP in Honduras, 16 percent in El Salvador, and 10 percent in Guatemala and they dwarf both foreign direct investment and overseas development assistance. Remittances reduce poverty and help millions of families that receive them obtain food, clothing, education, housing, and health care, but they can also create dependence on the diaspora. Their greatest potential— fueling productive investment that generates jobs and income and reduces immigration pressure—is often untapped. In addition to the flow of money back to Central America, in recent years the number of immigrants returning from the United States to their home countries has increased. During fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record 396,906 unauthorized immigrants, including more than 76,000 Central Americans. Central American governments are unprepared for these returned migrants. Many deportees end up re-migrating to the United States because of the lack of opportunities in their native countries.

Categories: Bread for the World Institute, business and economics, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, immigration, international relations, labor

New From the GAO

November 21, 2011 Comments off

New GAO Reports
Source: Government Accountability Office

+ Reports

1.  Adoption Tax Credit:  IRS Can Reduce Audits and Refund Delays.  GAO-12-98, October 20.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-98
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1298high.pdf

2.  Information Technology:  Critical Factors Underlying Successful Major Acquisitions.  GAO-12-7, October 21.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-7
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d127high.pdf

3.  Transportation Security Information Sharing:  Stakeholders Generally Satisfied but TSA Could Improve Analysis, Awareness, and Accountability.  GAO-12-44, November 21.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-44
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1244high.pdf

Related Product

Transportation Security Information Sharing:  Results of GAO’s Survey of Stakeholder Satisfaction with TSA Products and Mechanisms, an E-supplement to GAO-12-44. GAO-12-67SP, November 21.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-67SP

4.  Review of U.S. Response to the Honduran Political Crisis of 2009.  GAO-12-9R, October 20.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-9R

Categories: adoption and foster care, Government Accountability Office, government and politics, Honduras, international relations, national security, taxation, technology and internet, transportation and travel

Country Specific Information: Honduras

September 4, 2011 Comments off

Country Specific Information: Honduras
Source: U.S. Department of State

August 29, 2011

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Honduras has a developing economy. The national language is Spanish, although English is often spoken in the Bay Islands. The climate is generally pleasant and temperate, with dry and wet seasons. During the dry season from February into May, widespread forest fires and agricultural burning can severely degrade air quality throughout the country, possibly causing respiratory problems and airport closures. The terrain includes mountainous areas, coastal beaches, and jungle lowlands. Facilities that would normally be used by tourists, including hotels and restaurants, are generally adequate in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, in San Pedro Sula, Tela, La Ceiba, the Bay Islands, and near the Copan ruins. Large sections of the country, however, lack basic public services or even a governmental presence. Currency exchange is readily available at banks and hotels in the major cities. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Honduras for additional information.

Categories: Honduras, international relations, transportation and travel, U.S. Department of State

US Immigration Policy and Mexican/Central American Migration Flows: Then and Now

August 20, 2011 Comments off

US Immigration Policy and Mexican/Central American Migration Flows: Then and Now (PDF)
Source: Migration Policy Institute

Migration from Mexico and Central America’s “Northern Triangle” region (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) to the United States has increased significantly in the past four decades, from less than 1 million immigrants in the 1970s to 14 million today. Propelled by difficult economic and social conditions at home, massive opportunity differentials, and strengthening social networks, these regional migration flows have been shaped by evolving policies and practices. This report examines the push-and-pull factors of migration in the region from three major migration periods: the mostly laissez faire policies prior to the 1930s, the large-scale Bracero temporary worker program before and after World War II, and the mostly illegal system that emerged after the Bracero Program’s end in 1964.

Categories: Guatemala, Honduras, immigration, Mexico, Migration Policy Institute
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