VP Harris proclaims enterprise investments in Central America – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

WASHINGTON – (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday announced pledges from a dozen companies and organizations to invest in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as part of the Biden government’s efforts to address the root causes of migration from the region.

Participants in the new program include corporate giants Mastercard and Microsoft and Pro Mujer, a nonprofit focused on helping low-income women in Latin America, as well as the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the World Economic Forum.

Harris released what her office called a “call to action” for corporations and nonprofits to make new commitments to promote economic opportunity in Central America. At an event to announce the initiative, Harris stated that private companies “have a very important role to play in creating jobs, promoting economic opportunity and creating long-term development.”

Effort leaders joined Harris virtually and in person on Thursday for the event in their ceremonial office.

Luis von Ahn, CEO of the language learning app Duolingo, said in a blog post Thursday that around 500,000 people in the Northern Triangle area are already using Duolingo’s ad-driven free app, mainly to learn English and improve their job prospects. The company also offers a $ 49 online English test that is accepted by many colleges in the US and elsewhere, and as part of the call to the White House, he said the test will be free of charge for many Central Americans become.

Von Ahn said he grew up in Guatemala City in the 1980s and 1990s, a “particularly uncertain time in my country’s history,” but he was fortunate enough to go to good school and to the United States for higher education get.

The aim of the new effort is to focus aid on helping vulnerable groups such as women and young people, and to invest in internet access, vocational training programs and measures to tackle food shortages.

It is part of Harris’ role in addressing the root causes of migration to the United States, an assignment she received from President Joe Biden in March. Harris has held several interviews with the presidents of Guatemala and Mexico and held meetings with stakeholders, policy experts and companies in the region.

For her first trip abroad as Vice President, she plans to visit Guatemala and Mexico in early June.

Harris stressed the need for economic development in the region and public-private partnerships to address the challenges there. The government supports a proposal to allocate $ 7 billion to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to help tackle the poverty and violence that are leading people to flee to the United States

But the increase in migration at the border has become a significant political problem for Harris and Biden. Republicans accuse them of inaction over a crisis caused in part by the president’s decision to halt construction of the US-Mexico border wall and end some restrictions on asylum seekers.

April was the second busiest month on record for unaccompanied children encountered at the border after hitting the all-time high in March, as most of those arrested were quickly expelled from the United States under pandemic-related federal powers, who refuse the right to asylum, and because the deportation is not prosecuted, many try to cross the border several times.

The increase has put a strain on the capacity of the Border Police and Department of Health and Human Services to keep minors in temporary shelters until they can be placed with relatives or sponsors in the U.S. while authorities decide whether they have a legal right to stay in the U.S. USA to remain country, either by asylum or for any other reason. It has also sparked criticism from Republicans pointing to Harris and Biden’s decision not to visit the border to investigate the situation as evidence of their negligence.

Although migration will be the focus of Harris’ visit, security cooperation will also be discussed. On Thursday, David Cohen, deputy director of the CIA, had scheduled meetings with officials from the Army, Navy and the Mexican Intelligence Center in Mexico City.

The Mexican Congress passed a law in December restricting US agents in Mexico and lifting their diplomatic immunity. Experts say these restrictions could undermine security ties with the United States, which provides much of Mexico’s intelligence on drug trafficking and money laundering cases.

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Associate Press Writer Maria Verza in Mexico City and Matt O’Brien in Providence, RI contributed to this report.

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