To address the causes of migration and to facilitate asylum procedures for migrants, the U.S. government has issued two documents that strategize its approach towards the increasing level of irregular migration from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador).
US Vice-President, Kamala Harris, announced the “Collaborative Migration Strategy” and “The U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America.” The former defines the U.S. approach towards migrants and the latter details the actions that the White House will take to deal with roots of irregular migration from the region.
Kamala Harris noted that the U.S. administration was set to address the roots of migration, provide relief to the region to prevent an excessive influx of migrants, and to curb corruption. To effectively manage the issue, the U.S. will need the support of other countries, Harris also said.
Harris admitted that “it will not be easy, and progress will not be instantaneous” but the U.S. was committed to getting it right, she said.
“The U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America,” lists the main causes of the record high irregular migration from the region among which are:
With these in mind, the strategy aims to address the roots of migration by focusing on economic insecurity and inequality, combating corruption and strengthening democratic governance, promoting and defending human rights, countering violence, extortion, and other crimes and combating sexual, gender-based, and domestic violence.
The document points out that all those goals must be achieved with the engagement of U.S. institutions and local governments, partners from the private and public sectors, international organizations such as the UN, and international financial institutions. It also states that law enforcement and sanctioning corrupt entities are priorities.
With the “Collaborative Migration Strategy,” the US administration aims to strengthen “more legal pathways” for those people who are forced to flee. The White House declares it will:
Both strategies have come about as a reaction to the record-high number of migrants coming from Central America. In June 2021 alone, the US Customs and Border Protection reported 188,829 migrants on the US-Mexican border.
