Whereas two-thirds of the population of Honduras and nearly 60 percent of the population of Guatemala live in poverty, according to the World Bank; Whereas El Salvador and Honduras have two of the world’s highest murder rates, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); Whereas the region of Central America that encompasses the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, commonly known as the Northern Triangle , is a major trafficking route for illegal drugs, including for 90 percent of the cocaine destined for the United States; Whereas youth in Northern Triangle countries are relentlessly persecuted by gangs and often victims of forced recruitment; Whereas more than a quarter of youth in each country between the ages of 15 and 24 is not engaged in employment, education, or vocational training; Whereas El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras all receive low scores in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating a high degree of perceived corruption; Whereas the rate of impunity in all three countries has been estimated at over 90 percent; Whereas violent crimes targeting women, including femicides, occur at alarming rates and are rarely prosecuted; Whereas violence, poverty, forced gang recruitment, food insecurity, absence of rule of law, and corruption and extortion are among the key factors driving people to migrate from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; Whereas research shows that violence is a direct driver of migration; Whereas according to the Inter-American Dialogue, a 1 percent increase in homicides corresponds with respective increases in migration of 120%, 100%, and 188% in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador ; Whereas the Northern Triangle countries are the primary source of irregular migration flows to the United States