Hemispheric securityU.S. cuts aid to Central American countries over migration

Published 1 April 2019

The various U.S. aid programs in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, programs funded to address the causes of mass migration to the United States, are “not doing enough,” President Donald Trump said Friday, announcing that the aid programs to these three countries was being cut off. The announcement came amid a surge of immigrants crossing the border, prompting Trump to announce and this he week he might close the entire U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico did not do more to stem the flow of immigrants.

The majority of immigrants at the southern border set out from the cercentermost countries in the map above // Source: flickr.com

The various U.S. aid programs in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, programs funded to address the causes of mass migration to the United States, are “not doing enough,” President Donald Trump said Friday.

White House officials, appearing on the Sunday news shows, explained Trump’s decision to cut off aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, saying the small Central American nations were not doing enough to stop the flow of migrants to the United States.

The White House’s decision to cut off aid came against the backdrop of a surge in migrant detentions along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the possibility of a second migrant caravan headed north from Central America. “We stopped payment to Honduras, to Guatemala, and to El Salvador. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and we’re not paying them anymore because they haven’t done a thing for us,” Trump said Friday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the aid to Central American countries is meant to fund programs to combat gangs and foster development, and to address the root causes of mass migration from the region to the United States.

In an appearance for television broadcaster CNN on Sunday, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney questioned the efficacy of the aid program.

If it’s working so well, why are the people still coming?  Why are these historic numbers — again, 100,000 people will cross the border this month alone,” Mulvaney said.

It’s not working well enough to help us solve our border crisis.  And that’s what the president’s focused on,” he concluded.

Critics have warned that cuts to U.S. assistance could worsen conditions and possibly increase the flow of migrant heading north.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois defended the aid’s impact and its goal. “We need to focus on what’s happening in Central America where three countries are disassembling before our eyes and people are desperately coming to the United States,” he said.

The president cutting off aid to these countries will not solve this problem,” Durbin added.

Honduras responded on Sunday to the White House plan, proposing that Guatemala and El Salvador consider supporting joint initiatives “to ensure the sovereignty and dignity of each nation” in light of “the contradictory policies of the United States.”

Trump also said on Friday that he was willing to close the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) southern border this week, if Mexico did not stop the flow of people.

In a tweet on Sunday, Trump blamed Democrats for what he called “a ridiculous asylum system and major loopholes to remain as a mainstay of our immigration system.”

Critics argued that a border closure would have a negative impact on trade and commercial ties between Mexico and the United States.