Biden must do better
The pileup at the border may not be his fault, but fixing it is the president’s responsibility.
The American people are not happy with President Joe Biden’s stewardship of the border.
More than 50 percent disapprove of his handling of the record surge in unaccompanied minors, against just 29 percent who approve, a gap no doubt spurred by images of overcrowded detention centers.
More children — 19,000 in all — arrived in March at the border without a parent than ever before, most of them traveling through Mexico from Central America.
Just because the voters are blaming the president doesn’t mean that the surge in children at our gates is his fault. But as president, it is entirely his responsibility.
He must get serious about long-term solutions, which will mean helping improve conditions in Central America so that fewer young people there will be driven to flee their homes for the dangerous, long-shot chance at entry into the United States.
Topping the list of things that decidedly won’t help, obviously, are the photo ops both Democrats and Republicans have orchestrated in their mad dashes to the border or short-lived vigils outside holding facilities to decry conditions.
What might work is doubling down on an old idea, one that has worked before when given the priority it deserves.
For 60 years, the United States has dedicated resources to help development in Central America — but the focus, and its effectiveness, has waxed and waned, leaving us where we are today.
Biden must do better. That’s his opportunity to show that a humane border policy that adheres to international law and honors our nation’s historic dependence on and embrace of immigration can be principled and effective.
He can show that valuing immigration doesn’t have to lead to an unmanageable rush to the border by those hoping to cross it.
As his administration reckoned with its own unexpected increase of unaccompanied minors in 2014, President Barack Obama recognized the national security benefits of helping people in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
He approved a new U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America and Congress more than doubled annual aid to the region, according to the Congressional Research Service.
It apparently worked, as the temporary surge in unaccompanied minors soon receded.
When Donald Trump took office in 2017, he signaled a very different approach.
Congress resisted his most aggressive funding cuts, but most aid was suspended by 2019. It could not have come at a worse time, as the region was severely impacted by the pandemic and two hurricanes last year.
Restoring that funding and reengaging with Honduras, El Salavador and Guatemala will not stem the flow of children arriving at the border immediately.
But lasting change is within reach in a reasonable time, said professor Mark Jones, a political scientist with an expertise in Latin American studies at Rice.
“The two things that you can do there are achievable in the short to medium term,” he told the editorial board. “That is, helping to reduce gang violence and improve economic prosperity so that people are not starving.”
Eliminating these push factors should be the first priority in any long-term strategy, but finding the right approach to deliver that help effectively has bedeviled Republican and Democratic administrations in the recent past.
Congress allocated about $3.7 billion in assistance for Central America during Obama’s second term and the first half of Trump’s term. But only a little more than half was ever spent, with about $1.7 billion unused, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
Agencies that did spend the funds reported mixed results and little information on overall progress.
Just throwing money at the problem, it turns out, doesn’t work. Opaque political systems, corruption and weak institutions curb the impact of U.S. assistance.
So while the Biden administration has taken a good first step in earmarking $4 billion in aid over the next four years for Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, it won’t be any more successful than his predecessors’ efforts if the money isn’t matched by a commitment to finding more reliable partners in the region and properly assessing results.
The administration may be listening. Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s top official for southwest border affairs, told the Los Angeles Times the $4 billion will be subject to strict conditions based on anti-corruption efforts and good governance.
That’s a commitment congressional oversight committees must hold Jacobson to.
Diplomacy is also key, and Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday she will soon visit Mexico and Guatemala.
“Our focus is to deal with the root causes,” she said. About time.
The administration has a difficult task ahead, but unless the U.S. works together with our southern neighbors, the situation at the border will not change.