Crop Data Suggests Climate Change Is Not Driving the Migration Surge
Weak U.S. laws, not weak crops, are driving the border crisis
By Matthew Sussis on April 29, 2019
Why have soaring numbers of Central American families been traveling to the U.S. border in recent years? According to the narrative presented by high-immigration activists who want looser and looser asylum standards, these migrants are fleeing deteriorating conditions in their home countries. One of the most commonly cited examples of these conditions is the claim that migrants are fleeing for their physical safety from gang violence. I debunked that last month by demonstrating that there is no statistical relationship between homicide rates in Central America and illegal border crossings.
Now, activists have begun trotting out a new argument in favor of open borders: Central American migrants are fleeing climate change. A recent article in The Guardian said that people are leaving Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala because those nations have been "deeply affected by environmental degradation" that has damaged soil quality and crops. Another article this month, from The New Yorker, said climate change is "fueling" the border crisis because "farmers are abandoning their lands" due to weak crops.
https://cis.org/Sussis/Crop-Data-Suggests-Climate-Change-Not-Driving-Migration-Surge
