Central America Archives | Restoring Liberty

President Donald Trump announced the White House will, once again, deliver aid to several Central American countries after their governments entered into asylum agreements with the U.S.

The decision to provide “targeted assistance” to these countries is, at least somewhat, a reversal from the president’s decision earlier in 2019 to withhold hundreds of millions in economic aid to Central America — punishment against their governments for doing “nothing” to fix the immigration crisis.

“Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador have all signed historic Asylum Cooperation Agreements and are working to end the scourge of human smuggling. To further accelerate this progress, the U.S. will shortly be approving targeted assistance in the areas of law enforcement & security,” the president tweeted Wednesday.

The White House reportedly decided in June it would be diverting $370 million in aid that was for El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The three countries, located in a region in Central America known as the Northern Triangle, are home to the bulk of the illegal immigrants reaching the U.S. southern border en masse and lodging asylum claims.

“Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don’t care, such BAD laws. May close the Southern Border!” Trump tweeted in March about the border crisis. (Read more from “Trump Administration to Reinstate Aid to Central American Countries That Signed Asylum Deals” HERE)

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The State Department announced Saturday it was cutting off aid to the Central American countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, home to the thousands of immigrants attempting to reach the U.S. illegally.

“At the Secretary’s instruction, we are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a spokesman with the State Department said. “We will be engaging Congress as part of this process.”

The State Department acknowledged it will need to “engage Congress in the process,” meaning it must win the approval of lawmakers before withholding the estimated $700 million in aid that would otherwise be given to the three Central American countries. . .

The Department of Homeland Security apprehended 50,000 to 60,000 illegal migrants a month in late 2018. More than 75,000 apprehensions and encounters were made in February — the highest number in over a decade. DHS estimates March to be another record-breaker, with apprehensions expected to near 100,000. March already experienced back-to-back records in single-day apprehensions. . .

Immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras sent back a record $120 billion in remittances this decade, according to an immigration expert using U.N. and Latin American banking statistics. The numbers are expected to keep climbing, with immigrants from these three countries having sent $17 billion in 2018 alone. (Read more from “Trump Follows Through on Warning, Cuts off Aid From Central American Countries” HERE)

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