The Trump Administration’s current plan to cut U.S. aid to three Central American countries will exacerbate problems in the region and lead to an increase in migration to the United States, said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In an April 22 letter sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and signed by Rep. McCaul and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY), the congressmen urged the administration to reverse its plan to reduce assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras with the objective of curbing migration.
The countries have received about $2 billion in U.S. assistance since fiscal year 2016, and the committee leaders said they have seen first hand how U.S.-funded programs are giving at-risk youth an alternative to joining criminal gangs by providing them with technical skills and job training.
“This assistance supports efforts to address the challenging economic and security conditions that help form the root causes of mass child and family migration to the United States. It also enables us to combat transnational gangs, like MS-13, that are a threat to our communities here at home,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers acknowledge that while improvements can be made to the assistance program under the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America, “we believe that cutting assistance would be counterproductive and lead to increased migration flows to the U.S.,” the letter said.
The congressmen urged Secretary Pompeo to work closely with Congress on future decisions regarding whether or how to restart assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
“We are working together on legislation that will strengthen our assistance efforts in Central America and it is essential that we all work together to advance a comprehensive policy that is responsive to the needs of our partners in the region and serves our national security interests,” the committee leaders said.