Harris announces program to address migration crisis
Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced almost $1 billion in new pledges by private companies to support communities in Central America, part of the Biden administration’s effort to keep migrants from fleeing toward the U.S. border.
Ten companies, including Nestle, Target and Columbia Sportswear, said they would collectively spend $950 million on projects in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to support farmers, create textile jobs and invest in telecommunica- tions and other industries.
The effort comes as cross- ings at the U.S.-Mexico bor- der remain at record highs, posing logistical and humanitarian challenges to President Joe Biden and draw- ing intense criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
House Republicans have begun to investigate the administration’s efforts at the border and said they might pursue the impeach- ment of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary.
The vice president’s announcement came Monday afternoon as she met with a number of companies.
It added to the commit- ments from bus i nesses through the Partnership for Central America, a non- profit organization that was created in mid-2021 to facilitate Harris’ efforts to rally support for the region. The partnership had previously announced about $3 billion in future spending from a range of companies.
The idea, according to the vice president’s aides, is to address what she calls the root causes of migration: poverty, corruption, climate change and political instability that drives people to leave their homes in search of a better life.
Administration officials said the program had already generated results, though they acknowledged on a call with reporters that they could not specifically document those effects. Since mid-2021, officials said, migration from the three countries was down 71%.
“As part of this public-pri- vate partnership, approximately 47 companies and organizations are collaborating across financial services, textiles and apparel, agricul- ture, technology, telecom- munications and nonprofit sectors to strengthen the region’s economic security,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet released Monday.
Ajay Banga, the former executive chair of Mastercard and one of the business executives who worked with Harris on the effort to raise money for Central America, said it was unlikely to make a difference in the next few months or even years.
“If anyone speaking to you is declaring victory, they’re crazy,” Banga said. “There’s real work there. That $3 billion is interesting, but it is not implemented yet.”
Banga and others said they had been impressed with Harris’ preparation and well-informed questions on the issue. But he said that the administration’s focus on oversight when investing the funds and deterring illegal migration was critical to its success.
There are other challenges, too. People who have worked with the administration said that private investment was not enough as the U.S. competes with other countries, especially China, for investment in the region.
Company executives said they would also need regulatory changes and adjustments to tariffs if they wanted to be successful in the long run.
They will also need infrastructure to support their investments — roads, internet and power. In response, the administration said Monday that Harris would announce a program aimed at increasing investment in infrastructure in the region.