White House unveils series of immigration plans
Administration says it seeks to ‘change the ways’ people migrate
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration Thursday laid out a series of plans tackling economic insecurity, corruption and other factors in Central America to mitigate migration from the region to the United States, though Vice President Kamala Harris added there won’t be immediate results.
The plans, which avoid deadlines, include addressing economic insecurity and inequality, tackling corruption, promoting human rights and combating violence in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
“We will build on what works, and we will pivot away from what does not work,” Harris wrote in an introduction to the 20-page plan. “It will not be easy, and progress will not be instantaneous, but we are committed to getting it right.”
The strategy is part of Harris’ efforts to address and reduce migration from the Northern Triangle region (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador).
The vice president, who was appointed in March to address the root causes of migration, visited Guatemala and Mexico in June. There, she enacted several programs as part of the administration’s strategy, including an Anticorruption Task Force, and an anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling initiative.
There has been a dramatic increase of migrant children, families and adults coming to the U.S.-Mexico border. In June, the number of migrants encountered by Customs and Border Protection reached a yearly high of 188,829. A group of 509 migrants from Central and South America turned themselves in Monday night in Hidalgo, Texas, hours after another group of 336 migrants was encountered nearby, said Brian Hastings, the Border Patrol sector chief in Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
A senior administration official said the White House isn’t “seeking to end migration” but is “seeking to change the ways in which people migrate,” saying it doesn’t want migrants to turn to smugglers or trafficking, though the Biden administration has repeatedly told migrants not to come to the United States, saying the border is closed.
The United States is working with countries like Canada, Costa Rica and Spain to expand access to legal migration pathways. In addition, the United States is hoping to expand methods to allow migrants to come to work in the labor workforce or other resettlement pathways, such as expanding refugee admissions.
The administration also is setting up resource centers in the Northern Triangle that would allow people in those countries to access information and be referred to legal pathways in their own country. A senior administration official conceded that “one of the biggest challenges” they face is finding solutions for people who urgently need to leave their home countries.
Many of the migrants coming to the United States from Central America, and other countries, are fleeing gang violence, economic troubles exacerbated by the pandemic and climate change, as well as political turmoil.
A senior administration official said the White House is looking to set up temporary protections in neighboring countries like Mexico or Costa Rica for people who urgently need to leave their countries.
The majority of migrants, with the exception of children and some families, coming to the U.S.-Mexico border are being turned away under Title 42, a policy that allows Customs and Border Protection to expel undocumented migrants to prevent the spread of the virus in holding facilities.