Many say it’s unrealistic to expect industries such as apparel and textiles manufacturing to relocate from Asia to the United States because it’s too expensive to do the work here and we don’t have the labor force for it.
Central America could be the best alternative and would provide other benefits as well.
Here are five things to know:
How does increasing garment factory jobs in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador reduce immigration issues at the U.S. border?
The region, known as the Northern Triangle of Central America, could achieve greater prosperity through growth in industries it already has, such as apparel and textiles manufacturing – slowing the need for people to leave for opportunities elsewhere.
One company alone, GK Global, says it has around 27,000 employees in Honduras, and that for every job it creates, it prevents 11 people from emigrating to the United States and other countries.
Since the apparel industry is labor intensive and brings would-be migrants out of agriculture and informal employment, focusing on policies to expand the industry offers “tremendous promise for addressing the root causes of migration in Central America,” according to study in 2021 from Texas A&M University.
