Why Do Central American Migrants Seek Asylum in the United States?

On February 20, 2020, Dr.  J. T. Way, a historian of Central America at Georgia State University, discussed how criminal networks, fueled by a changing economy, have penetrated local Central American neighborhoods, contributing to the asylum cases in U.S. courts today.  The author of two books on modern Guatemala, Dr. Way is now writing a book on the roots of the Central American migrant crisis. He served as the director of CIRMA (the Mesoamerican Research Center) in Antigua, Guatemala, and he currently provides expert testimony for asylum cases.