Fewer Than One Percent of Guatemalans in U.S. Ran from Gang Violence, Survey Finds

Less than one percent of Guatemalan nationals come to the United States to escape gang violence in their native country, a new report claims.

In a new study highlighted by the Center for Immigration Studies, the reasons why Guatemalans leave their country to enter the U.S. either legally or illegally reveal that the vast majority are economic migrants.

The “Survey on International Migration of Guatemalans and Remittances 2016” found that 91 percent of Guatemalans who came to the U.S. came for economic reasons. Meanwhile, only 0.2 percent came to the U.S. to escape gang problems, while another 0.3 percent said they left Guatemala because of violence.

Roughly 57 percent of Guatemalans said they came to the U.S. to seek better job prospects, while almost 33 percent said they migrated to earn a better income. Another 3.7 percent of Guatemalans entered the U.S. in order to reunite with family members.

A tiny 0.1 percent said they came to the U.S. to open a businesses, confirming immigration hawks’ shared skepticism that the current immigration system does not give preference to high-skilled or business-oriented newcomers.

The study apparently debunks longtime claims by the mainstream media, politicians, and open borders lobby that mass immigration from Central America to the U.S. is necessary because most migrants are fleeing gang violence.

In 2016, the New York Times extensively claimed that mass–legal and illegal–immigration to the U.S. from countries like Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador was largely due to gangs and violence.

An official with the United Nations at the time even proclaimed “It’s really a refugee crisis,” when referring to the migration, not mentioning how the primary reason for migrants coming to the U.S. through the southern border is for economic motive.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.