According to a United States Information Agency (USIA) report at least 600,000 Central Americans plan to seek work in the U.S. following the devastation of the region by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998. 280,000 people have reportedly already begun the journey. The INS, however, sees no reason to be concerned. According to a spokesperson for the agency, according to the figures they have, based on the number of people attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the number of people leaving Central American is actually decreasing.

The USIA report was prepared at the request of the Gallup Corp. by Costa Rican researchers. The information was gathered by interviewing a random sample of 4000 people, 1000 each in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. The cause for the mass exodus is apparently the mistaken impression the migrants have of U.S.immigration policies toward them. Many people interpreted the Temporary Protected Status granted the people of the region already in the U.S. at the end of 1998 to extend to people arriving afterwards.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) calls the situation "a growing illegal migration crisis" and worries that if even half of the predicted 600,000 people make it to the U.S. border, resources would be overwhelmed. The recent tightening of the border in southern cities has already had the dramatic effect of forcing migrants to attempt crossing either dangerous waters or barren deserts, leading to hundreds of deaths. More people attempting to cross the border will only mean more deaths. Adding to the difficulty of the situation is the recent explosive growth of the Border Patrol, which has led to under-training of many agents.

Another factor is that the U.S. cannot simply send Central Americans back across the border to Mexico. It takes much longer to process someone for return to Central America, which will lead to an increased burden on the already overwhelmed INS detention facilities.