Pence to C. America: ‘Exodus must end’

GUATEMALA CITY — Vice President Mike Pence had a blunt message for three Central American governments: You must do more to stop migrants who enter the United States illegally.

“This exodus must end,” Pence told the leaders of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador late Thursday in a meeting in Guatemala City.

Pence said U.S. officials were working to keep families together and welcomed legal immigration from their countries, but he urged the presidents to “tell your people that coming to the United States illegally will only result in a hard journey and a harder life.”

He made the comments to Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Cerén and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, leaders of countries where economic struggles and violent crime have pushed many people to try to sneak into the U.S. in hopes of finding better lives.

The U.S. vice president said the Trump administration “will always welcome” immigrants who follow the rules in getting permission to enter the United States.

But, he added, the U.S. is determined to act strongly against those who don’t.

“It is a threat to the security of the United States, and just as we respect your borders and your sovereignty, we insist that you respect ours,” he said.

The three Central American countries are the home nations of most of the migrants detained and separated in recent weeks amid Trump administration policies that led to the separations of more than 2,000 children.