The White House strategy to stop irregular migration to the United States from Central America focuses on job creation, economic investment and support for human rights. Biden administration officials say it is showing results, but analysts warn against unrealistic expectations.
A sharp surge in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border represented a political crisis for President Joe Biden at the start of his administration. He has asked Vice President Kamala Harris to spearhead a “root causes” strategy, banking heavily on the use of US investments to improve living conditions in three Central American nations known as the Northern Triangle: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Migration specialists say reducing irregular migration through investment will take decades.
“And I think this administration knows it,” said Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
“The problem is in the public sphere,” he said, explaining that the public expects to see real-time results in a year or two, “and that's simply not the case economically, even if we had the investment capacity to do it.”
Ruiz Soto says the success of this strategy depends on more than just what the White House is doing. It needs governments in the region to commit to making significant improvements.
“For example, if Microsoft wanted to establish a center in Guatemala, it would not only have to include money to construct the building, hire workers, provide training, but also a matching allocation from the Guatemalan government to build the roads, have the infrastructure for electricity , have broadband internet,” he added.
That is not something that can be achieved in a few years, said Ruiz Soto.
It is not new
The strategy is not new. Under former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, there was a US strategy for engagement in Central America that focused on pillars similar to the five of the Biden administration's strategy.
“The difference is that they are prioritizing different things, but investing in Central America with efforts to reduce irregular migration is not new,” said Ruiz Soto.
In March, the White House released an updated fact sheet showing $5.2 billion in financial commitments from private organizations. The investment, the White House said, is expected to create economic opportunities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
“And I think perhaps the best achievement of the Biden administration has been that investment in Central America has become more localized. It is more specific and it has become more realistic. But it has not become less political, because everyone wants immediate results. , and that is not going to happen,” Ruiz Soto reiterated.
Symptom of bigger problems
Administration officials argue that the border situation is a symptom of larger problems. Many migrants are forced to travel to the United States in search of better economic prospects or to escape violence.
Biden officials say fewer people would risk the dangerous journey north if economic, political and security challenges in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are addressed.
“Migration must be understood in context, with the number of migrants increasing around the world, including from countries that have recently become so-called countries of origin of migrants,” said a spokesperson for the National Security Council (NSC) of United States to VOA by email. They spoke on condition of anonymity, a method often used by US authorities to share information with reporters without being identified.
The NSC spokesperson wrote that through the administration's root causes program, more than 250,000 jobs have been created in the region, and 3 million youth are being supported through education and job training.
“As a result of these investments in the region, we have seen a decrease [porcentual] double digits in people from Central America who intend to migrate,” said the NSC spokesperson.
Border numbers fluctuate
According to an analysis conducted in April by the human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), December saw the highest number of monthly arrests at the border since 2000, but those figures are halved in the following three months.
Some Republicans have criticized Harris' plan for Central America, arguing that it is ineffective or focuses too much on foreign aid rather than border security. They say Harris has focused too much on long-term solutions rather than immediate border migration flows.
As the United States seeks strategies to respond to the growing number of migrants fleeing poverty, violence and other challenges in the Central American region, Ruiz Soto said the governments of the Northern Triangle countries must commit to governance based on accountability. accounts, transparency and development.
“It is fundamentally required that Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador do more than the United States does to try to increase the conditions they have. One, in financing, but also in political assistance and political will to change the institutions,” he stated.
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