Almost half of the migrants crossing into the United States from Latin America and the Caribbean report previously experiencing firearm-related threats or violence in their home country, according to a University of Michigan study. The research examined the narrative that U.S.-manufactured firearms fuel violence in other countries and in turn contribute to migration. Prior studies have shown that U.S. firearm markets are associated with gun-related violence in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Mexico and other countries, and that fleeing violence is a main reason people journey to the U.S.
To better understand the complex relationship, researchers at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus designed firearm-related questions for a survey given to new arrivals from Latin America and the Caribbean between March 2022 and August 2023. The participants were recruited for the survey while being processed and housed at a respite center at the southern border of the U.S.
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