Joe Biden has a plan for the border crisis that he refuses to call a border crisis, and it sounds a lot like bribery.
In order to address the increasing stem of migrants coming to the United States from Central American nations Biden could choose to increase security at the border, complete the wall or get tougher on deportations.
He could, but apparently he is considering paying Central American nations with American tax dollars to keep migrants from coming and Republicans are furious, likening the idea to a bribe, Western Journal reported.
White House southern border coordinator Roberta Jacobson told Reuters Friday that Biden’s program, if enacted, would mainly target the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Central Americans have been of recent interest regarding illegal immigration in recent years. During the 2018 fiscal year, according to the Migration Policy Institute, 49 percent of family units and 58 percent of unaccompanied minors coming from Northern Triangle countries were from Guatemala alone. Three-fourths of the way through the 2019 fiscal year, Customs and Border Protection reportedly apprehended over 363,000 migrants from the Northern Triangle countries.
“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,” Jacobson, who announced that she was leaving her position, said to Reuters.
“The one thing I can promise you is the U.S. government isn’t going to be handing out money or checks to people,” she said.
Jacobson said that a decision has not been made about sending vaccines to the Northern Triangle nations but it is something the administration is considering.
But some top Republicans criticized the idea, likening it to bribing illegal immigrants to stay where they are and not come to the United States.
“Bribing illegal immigrants won’t solve the border crisis,” Republican Rep. Tom Cotton said in a tweet.
Republican Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy also criticized the administration’s ridiculous idea of making cash payments.
“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 Since then it has spiraled out of control as the Biden administration halted construction of the border wall and rescinded critical safeguards like the ‘Remain-in-Mexico’ policy,” he said.
“Now hundreds of thousands of migrants are pouring across our southern border, including suspected terrorists. 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,” the leader said.
“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. 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,” McCarthy said.
“The United States is on track to encounter more than two million illegal immigrants by the end of September, an all-time record. 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,” he said.