Guatemala

Guatemala through its Consular Network, provides psychological assistance to children and adolescents in countries of transit and destination. Currently, this assistance is provided at the Guatemalan Consulates in Mcallen, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona, and Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico.

This campaign is aimed at children and their families to have a clear, simple and precise information about the steps of the migration processes in United States; explaining what happens to the child when he or she is arrested by entering United States irregularly, addressing migratory processes of detention in that country, stay in the shelter, family reunification, special visas and deportation. It also communicates about the risk of migrating unauthorized, encouraging informed decisions within the framework of the right to migrate.

The plan promotes the coordination and inter-linkage of actions over a 5 year horizon (2016-2020) and seeks to give people incentives to stay in their own countries by means of structural change that offers economic opportunities and transforms the citizen’s of the Northern Triangle of Central America quality of life, mainly in regions affected by the highest rates of poverty, migration and vulnerability.

The Migration Information and Statistics System for Mesoamerica (SIEMMES by its Spanish acronym) is a system of migration information designed to capture and monitor the magnitude and characteristics of migratory movements from, to and between the Central American countries and Mexico, by coordinating and compatibilizing the data generated by different agencies in all those countries. 

Set up in 2001, it includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.

Guatemala has been able to negotiate, through the Quebec Farmers Association "Ferme" large seasonal movements of agricultural workers under Canada's universal temporary foreign worker visa category. The program has been evaluated as highly successful in terms of almost 100% assured returns, high remittances, 20% female intake and improved family welfare back home.