Foreign Aid Won’t Stem Illegal Immigration; Foreign Aid Can’t Stem Illegal Immigration: The Case of Guatemala

Foreign aid won’t stem illegal immigration:

More than two years ago, Vice President Kamala Harris launched her “root causes” strategy to stem the flow of illegal migration from Central America into the United States. At the core of her initiative was a $1 billion foreign aid program that was intended to alleviate the poverty the administration blamed for driving millions of illegal immigrants to the U.S. from the region.

The initiative, however, has failed to halt continued historic levels of migration, demonstrating that maintaining secure physical barriers, enforcing immigration laws, and reviving regional border agreements are the required tools to stem illegal migration and its accompanying drug trafficking and human trafficking.

Since February 2021, the administration has sought to discourage millions of Central Americans from making the dangerous trek into the United States. Its root causes strategy counted upon mobilizing mostly American foreign investment in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, from where millions of migrants originate, and “create jobs for one million individuals by 2032.”

Earlier this year, Ms. Harris claimed that $4.2 billion in private sector commitments was made in the region as proof that the administration’s policies are working.

Our research team at The Heritage Foundation looked more closely into these numbers and found them to be deceptive. All the alleged investments are commitments, not finalized deals, expressing an intent to invest, a far cry from actual investments.

We spoke to several of the companies mentioned by the administration, and they told us that most of their projects cited had already been underway and are unrelated to the administration’s strategy. —>READ MORE HERE

Foreign Aid Can’t Stem Illegal Immigration: The Case of Guatemala”

Summary

The three Northern Triangle countries—Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—account for at least one-third of all U.S. southern border encounters, totaling more than 500,000 illegal migrants from the region every year. In 2022, nearly half came from Guatemala. With a 600-mile porous and densely forested border with Mexico to the north and borders with Honduras and El Salvador to its south, Guatemala is a geographic chokepoint, a linchpin “second U.S. southern border” for northbound migration, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. If the United States wants to reduce illegal immigration from Central America, it must secure the border, enforce U.S. immigration laws, and revive its border agreements with its southern neighbors. Foreign aid is not the solution to the border crisis

Key Takeaways

1. Since 2021, U.S. policy toward Guatemala has been largely driven by the Administration’s “root causes” strategy—which increased foreign aid. 
2. Expanding foreign aid while maintaining failed border policies, however, has not curbed illegal immigration, nor drug trafficking and human trafficking. I 
3. Instead of just continuing foreign aid, the U.S. must secure its border, enforce its immigration laws, and revive its border agreements with its southern neighbors

—>READ THE REST OF THE REPORT HERE

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