The Last Straw: Reasons for Leaving Among Post Hurricane Maria Migrant Families

Background and Purpose: Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico in September 2017, leaving the island with significant damage and forcing many to leave. In the present study, we aimed to understand motivations for leaving Puerto Rico among families who left the island following Hurricane Maria. We used qualitative methodologies to identify reasons for leaving Puerto Rico after Maria, and thus provide a more in-depth understanding of post-Maria migrants’ potential service needs and gaps. Specifically, we examined the following questions: To what extent was the impact of the hurricane a factor in the decision to leave Puerto Rico? What led participants to make the final decision to migrate to the U.S. mainland?

Methods: A total of 120 parent-child dyads (n=60 parents, n=60 youth) were recruited in collaboration with community organizations in Central Florida, and given an online survey. Within this survey, an open-ended question was given to parents and youth to describe why they decided to leave. From the 120 participants, 20 dyads (n=20 parents, n=20 youth) were interviewed and asked about this decision and their experiences before and after the hurricane. We conducted thematic analysis of participants’ responses to the open-ended question, as well as the interview responses. Open-ended responses from the survey and the interview data were analyzed separately. Responses from the survey questionnaire were short and did not provide sufficient in-depth information about reasons for migration. Instead, they provided a brief snapshot of motivations for leaving. Interviews, on the other hand, provided more detailed information and required more in-depth analysis. Thus, the team coded the open-ended data separately from the interview data.

Results: From the open-ended survey question, we found that employment (n=28), better quality of life (n=21) and repercussions from Hurricane Maria (n=22) were reason for migration among parents. For youth, repercussions from Hurricane Maria (n=27), better quality of life (n=12), parental employment (n=8) and parental decision (n=16) were reported as the reasons for migration. From the in-depth qualitative interviews, we found that, although the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria served as an important push factor, the hurricane itself did not appear to be the primary underlying reason for migration—rather, it was often the “last straw.”

Conclusions and Implications: Evidence presented here suggests that Hurricane Maria was, for many, not a singular or even a predominant motivation for migration—rather, the hurricane was often described as one important stressor among a number of broad, long-standing social and economic challenges. From a practice standpoint, this suggests that many Hurricane Maria survivor families likely would benefit from services that extend well beyond the trauma and loss associated with the storm. Services for crisis migrants often focus on and/or are limited to the crisis event itself; however, it seems likely that additional services related to factors like employment, English language learning, help understanding/interfacing with the U.S. education system, and access to healthcare would also be highly relevant. Indeed, it seems quite plausible that such services would help Maria survivors to adapt and integrate into their new communities.