Many Central Americans like Hondurans , Salvadorians , and Guatemalans are trying to reach the United States for political asylum . The current driving forces leading to migration are crime , poverty and political corruption . Crime is a big issue for those living in Guatemala ; statistically 84 % to 87 % of violence is attributed to gang violence and drug trafficking . Firearms are very easy to obtain in that country of Guatemala . In central american 73 % of homicides are attributed to guns , which is 32 % higher compared to a worldwide percentage of 41 % . The other attribute leading to these migrations is poverty . Guatemala has a population of about 16.5 million people . From that 16.5 million , 59.3 % of people live below the poverty line which is about 9,817,5000 people , while 23 % live in extreme poverty which is about 3,795,000 from the 89.3 % of people . Climate change has been one of the largest contributing factor that has led to the dismantling of the Guatemalan economy . The Guatemalan economy especially that of the western highlands is based on its coffee industry which has been altered by climate change and “ coffee rust ” fungus , the crippling of the economy further cripples the families in these already impoverished communities which have relied on the coffee industry for generations , which has dropped 6 % since last year . Since 2014 95 % of Guatemalans have been affected by droughts . These droughts reduced the agricultural production in both commercial as well as subsistence farming . Both leading to the distributing statistic of poverty and child malnutrition . Long history of civil war , genocide , and US intervention has all left its imprint on the current political environment of the country
genocide
Guatemalan genocide
History of Guatemalan migrants in the United States