Rosa Huffman

What is the effectiveness of the new Biden-Harris Administration strategy on the root causes of Central American migration? (main)Do the listed policy objectives align with the current issues of the migration crisis? (subquestion)How is this strategy different from those of the past in addressing Central American migration? (subquestion)Has the Administration followed through on their strategy? (subquestion)

Started Apr. 29, 2022

Abstract or project description

While there are many root causes for mass migration from Central America to the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have particularly exacerbated this problem. In recent years, Central American countries, such as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, have suffered from an increase in economic inequalities, natural disasters, and even civil wars. Since 2020, the number of Central American migrants entering the United States has risen at an extreme rate, as more people seek asylum. In the summer of 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration launched the “U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America”, or more commonly known as the Root Causes Strategy. This paper serves to examine this novel approach by the Biden Administration to Central American immigration and the recent influx of refugees in the United States, eventually determining whether or not the policy will be successful. It will examine past United States policies, whether successful or not, in relation to the new Biden Administration strategy. Additionally, it will evaluate past foreign aid programs, such as those of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the current relationships with those Central Americans countries. While the United States has engaged in a series of foreign aid programs in the past, even with these countries, none of these policies or programs have attempted to address the Central American migration crisis and its root issues. This new policy shifts away from those of the past which focused on immigrants’ rights in the United States, instead of getting to the “root cause” of the immigration problem: immigration itself.