The president of the United States, Joe Biden , promised in a letter sent to his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, an increase in “investment in southern Mexico and northern Central America” to address the causes that cause forced migration.
“I look forward to working with you to expand our cooperation specifically by increasing investment in southern Mexico and northern Central America ,” Biden said in his letter dated October 6.
The president of the United States thus responded to the letter that López Obrador sent him last month to insist that the United States support the expansion of its social programs in Central America to mitigate the migratory flow.
Biden thanked the Mexican Government for the “financing and implementation” of the Young Building the Future scholarship program and the Sembrando Vida reforestation program , two López Obrador plans implemented in Mexico and exported to Central America.
He stated that the United States “is also testing conditional cash transfer programs in the region” and wants to “consider a possible joint pilot activity” with Mexico.
“We agree that the most effective and sustainable way to deter potential migrants from fleeing their homes is by addressing the root causes of migration: lack of economic opportunities, weak governance, corruption, violence and inequality, ”Biden said.
Millionaire investment for Central America in immigration matters
He assured that his government has “intensified” its commitment to Central America , so that in the last year the United States “has provided more than $ 600 million in international assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras . “
He also said that he has asked Congress for an additional $ 861 million from the 2022 budget for Central America and that economic insecurity and violence in those countries are being addressed through various programs.
The president of the United States recalled that he redirected “the resources of the unnecessary border wall” towards investing in the modernization of land ports to improve the identification of people with the right to asylum and discard “quickly those who do not have it.”
The region has registered a historical migratory flow in recent months with 147,000 undocumented persons detected in Mexico from January to August, triple that of 2020, and a record of 212,000 undocumented persons detained in July alone by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office .
Since the last administration of Donald Trump , the Mexican government has cooperated with the United States by deploying the military on the border with Guatemala to stop migrants , while López Obrador has called for greater investments in Central America.