WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly considering whether to pay citizens of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador money to convince them to stay in their home countries instead of migrating to the U.S.
Last Friday, Reuters reported that a senior White House official told the news organization that the Biden administration is considering a conditional cash transfer program to help address economic woes that cause migrants from certain Central American countries to travel to the U.S.
Amid a historic influx of migrants at the U.S. border, Reuters reported that the Biden administration was weighing a “conditional cash transfer program” targeted at migrants in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. https://t.co/dpufkIe1Tf
— NBC Montana (@NBCMontana) April 12, 2021
The official is Roberta Jacobson, the White House’s southern border coordinator, and she told Reuters that the U.S. was also planning to send COVID-19 vaccines to the Northern Triangle region of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Friday that Jacobson would be leaving the White House at the end of April because she only committed to her role for the first 100 days of Biden’s administration.
That was quick. After 79 days on the job, White House ‘border czar’ Roberta Jacobson is leaving. Says border ‘policy direction is so clearly right for our country.’ She really said that. From NYT: https://t.co/PCBI03P7id
— Byron York (@ByronYork) April 9, 2021
Jacobson told Reuters in an interview that the cash program would target people in the Northern Triangle countries, but would not say who exactly would get the money.
Jacobson also did not provide Reuters with a detailed explanation of how a cash transfer program would work, but told the news organization:
“We’re looking at all of the productive options to address both the economic reasons people may be migrating, as well as the protection and security reasons.
“The one thing I can promise you is the U.S. government isn’t going to be handing out money or checks to people.”
👇So Roberta Jacobson, the “Border Coordinator” is OUT…@KamalaHarris the BORDER CZAR is MIA…
Who is actually managing the border?
This is #chaos! 👇👇👇👇 https://t.co/908fmz15JN
— Trish Regan (@trish_regan) April 9, 2021
The New York Post suggested the potential cash transfer program is really a “pay to stay away” tactic.
Regarding vaccines, which many Americans are still waiting to receive, Jacobson told Reuters that no decision has been made on whether or not to prioritize sending vaccines to the Northern Triangle countries.
According to Reuters’ report, Jacobson said that Biden’s administration would consider how vaccines could help the countries’ ailing economies, and she acknowledged that the vaccine issue remains separate from immigration-related discussions with the nations.
Jacobson resigned in May of 2018 from her position as an ambassador to Mexico, according to a 2019 report by Reuters.
President Joe Biden dispatched U.S. envoys, including White House border coordinator Roberta Jacobson, to Mexico and Guatemala for talks on how to manage the increase in the number of migrants heading for the U.S.-Mexican border https://t.co/GE5TVD3TgW pic.twitter.com/qPxDtio7ft
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 23, 2021
In March, Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead U.S. efforts with Mexico and Central America to address the illegal immigration crisis.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Pres. Biden and VP Harris visiting the border: “I don’t have any trips to outline or preview.” pic.twitter.com/JwreL68VES
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) April 7, 2021
Yet little has been heard from Harris about what she is accomplishing in her lead role.
Fox’s Chris Wallace calls out VP Harris for not visiting border during her first 16 days in border role: “It makes you wonder whether she knows this is a mess and she doesn’t want her fingerprints on it.” pic.twitter.com/3K1iNlKyNe
— TV News HQ (@TVNewsHQ) April 9, 2021
Neither Harris nor Biden has announced plans to visit the border anytime soon to see the crisis for themselves.
A few days ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott demanded a migrant facility in San Antonio be shut down after allegations of child sex abuse and neglect surfaced.
Biden opened the borders & failed to plan for the influx of unaccompanied minors.
Now he must respond to allegations of child abuse & neglect on his watch.
DPS & TX Rangers are investigating.
The administration must close the facility & protect these children. pic.twitter.com/s1chzDQYlx
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 8, 2021
Yet, Harris made time to visit a bakery in Chicago recently and was criticized for turning it into a media event while seemingly ignoring the negative news coming from the border.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended Vice President Kamala Harris when a reporter criticized the VP for visiting a Chicago bakery, but not visiting the southern border. https://t.co/rfAqAszM3e
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 9, 2021
The New York Post reported that in March, nearly 170,000 migrants were picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the southern border, a 70 percent increase from February and the highest monthly total seen since March 2001 according to data.
However, thousands of illegal immigrants who crossed the border ended up getting released into the U.S. interior due to the Biden administration’s renewal of the catch-and-release program.
🚨 I visited the Donna processing facility yesterday.
These are the videos Joe Biden & Kamala Harris don’t want you to see.
This is the devastating result of their disastrous left-wing immigration agenda.
RT so everyone can see what they’re trying to hide. This is child abuse. pic.twitter.com/7y7sQp50Pn
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) April 10, 2021
Breitbart reported:
“Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Mark Morgan said the Biden administration, as of March 30, had released more than 45,000 border crossers and illegal aliens into the U.S. interior.
“Likewise, state officials have said Biden’s sanctuary country orders are resulting in the release of criminal illegal aliens into American communities.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted in a statement:
“We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years.”
Shift in Biden admin’s border messaging, with Roberta Jacobsen telling @tedhesson: “The message isn’t, ‘Don’t come now,’ it’s, ‘Don’t come in this way, ever.’” https://t.co/ObKObqUWxA
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) March 19, 2021
Biden rolled back strict immigration policies, which President Donald Trump had put in place, and now many migrants feel that it is easier to get into the U.S. and stay there.
At long last, a Kamala mashup. pic.twitter.com/C5n98w11P1
— Watchdog (@demswatchdog) April 12, 2021
Juana Débora Jiménez, 33, spoke to New York Post about her arduous journey to the U.S. She said she spent three months traveling from Mazatenango, Guatemala, so she could join relatives in Miami, find work and send money back for her two children, who weren’t able to attend school during the pandemic.
Jiménez said she believed Biden would be more sympathetic to her plight:
“I came because he has more heart.
“He [Biden] is the president that could help us. He cares more about us than the other one, and I thought he would see our necessity and help us. Our own president doesn’t care about us.”
Biden has now requested $4 billion in development aid to Central America over four years to address underlying causes of migration, according to Reuters’ report.
On Friday, the White House requested $861 million from Congress to support that effort in Biden’s first annual budget proposal, a sharp increase from the original $500 million requested previously, according to Reuters.
President Biden wants to try and buy our way out of his border crisis with taxpayer money. The Administration is spending $60 million a week, and now wants to launch a cash transfer program in Central America. This insults millions of Americans who are out of work in our country. https://t.co/Jcav3wYyhf
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) April 10, 2021
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) criticized Biden’s reported plan of giving away U.S. taxpayer-funded cash payments to Central Americans in an April 9 statement:
“The crisis at the border began on January 20th, the moment President Biden took office and promised a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants.
“Since then it has spiraled out of control as the Biden administration halted construction of the border wall and rescinded critical safeguards like the ‘Remain-in-Mexico’ policy.
“Now hundreds of thousands of migrants are pouring across our southern border, including suspected terrorists.
Migrants apprehended on U.S. southern border:
34,000 in March 2020
171,000 in March 2021
Remember when Joe Biden said a border surge happens every year?
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) April 6, 2021
“Some of these migrants are being released into our country and others are being crammed into unsanitary and inhumane facilities, which includes 20,000 unaccompanied minors, many who have been trafficked in by smugglers.
“We know the solutions needed to secure our border because the border was secure last year, and security was increasing with every mile of border wall.
“After reversing policies that worked, President Biden wants to try and buy our way out of this crisis with taxpayer money.
Joe Biden’s Administration is spending $60 million per week to take care of unaccompanied minors at the border, according to @washingtonpost.#HHS cost for caring for a single migrant child running $290 daily.https://t.co/RO5kZ6tekh pic.twitter.com/XEEjQy2Yem
— Trish Regan (@trish_regan) April 8, 2021
“The Administration is already spending $60 million a week dealing with the crisis they created at the border, but now it is reported they want to dole out even more taxpayer funds to launch a cash transfer program in Central America.
“It’s insulting to the millions of Americans who are out of work or facing despair in our country.
“The United States is on track to encounter more than two million illegal immigrants by the end of September, an all-time record.
Biden, while barring patent waivers, struck a deal to give Mexico 2.5 million vaccines in exchange for more enforcement against Central American migrants. Imagine the headlines if Trump brokered that deal – withholding vaccine to secure fewer immigrants? https://t.co/cEyyvwbhIl
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) April 9, 2021
“Last month alone there were 172,000 migrants who attempted to enter our country, a two-decade high.
“We are only three months into this new Administration, and they are failing to stop one of the most consequential crises in a decade.
“The solution is at the ready, and it absolutely does not include more U.S. taxpayer-funded payments to Central America.”
—
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