Kamala Harris designates $1bln to solve issue of mass migration to US
The commitments include the creation of new jobs in Central America, the provision of goods to the area, the establishment of academic services to students while investing in broadband internet availability, and supporting small and local businesses.
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VP Kamala Harris in Florida during a speech in January 2023 (AFP)
Approximately $1 billion has been designated by US Vice President Kamala Harris in the private sector in an attempt to address the main causes of migration to the US.
In its statement, the White House confirmed, "Vice President Kamala Harris and the Partnership for Central America [PCA] today announced more than $950 million in new private sector commitments in response to her Call to Action for Northern Central America, bringing the overall total to more than $4.2 billion since May 2021."
The commitments of this partnership, in collaboration with dozens of companies, involve the creation of new jobs in Central America, the provision of goods to the area, the establishment of academic services to students while investing in broadband internet availability, and supporting small and local businesses.
Central America involves seven countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize, and Panama.
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A new initiative called Central America Forward has also been formulated between Harris and the PCA, which centers on good governance policies and labor rights in this partnership, as per the White House.
A 'political pawn' problem
Harris has upped her efforts on addressing the migration issue after Texan governor Greg Abbott started transferring migrants crossing into Texas onto buses and toward the capital: Washington, D.C.
In an attempt to put pressure on the Biden administration to take action on immigration enforcement and border security, Gov. Abbott started transporting migrants from border cities to the capital in April, which landed him heavy criticism.
The Texas governor explained his decision to move the migrants in a letter to President Biden that he was doing so because migrant housing facilities had to release residents outside onto the streets due to frigid conditions in places like El Paso.
"Your policies will leave many people in the bitter, dangerous cold as a polar vortex moves into Texas," Abbott wrote. "Texas has borne a lopsided burden caused by your open border policies."
Back in September 2022, two buses of migrants from the US-Mexico border were sent by Abbott to a location near Harris’ home at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., followed by a tweet that he dropped off the migrants in her “backyard” and called on the Biden administration to “do its job & secure the border.”
In response, White House Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the series of putting the migrants on busses "is just cruel, and it's not about the process. Actually, It's about a political tool or political stunt that they're moving forward with," as she further accused the Republican governors of exploiting migrants as "political pawns".
