Bloomberg — Vice President Kamala Harris announced $950 million in contributions from companies including Target Corp. (TGT) and Nestle SA to address poverty and violence driving migration from Central America.
Target has promised to boost regional spending by $300 million this year and increase the use of vendors from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the White House said in a statement Monday. Nestle has said it will support 7,500 coffee producers and strengthen its supply chains.
Millicom International Cellular SA (TIGO) pledged to invest an additional $350 million by 2025 to expand mobile and broadband networks. Columbia Sportswear Co. promised to purchase $200 million in products, creating 6,900 jobs in the region over the next five years.
President Joe Biden chose Harris in 2021 as his point person to address the root causes of migration from Central America. Historic numbers of border crossings have dogged Biden politically since he was inaugurated, and the three Central American countries have traditionally been a major source of migrants.
As part of her effort, Harris launched an initiative called the Partnership for Central America to marshal private-sector support for the region aimed at creating more economic opportunities to persuade people to stay in their home countries. The $950 million announced Monday pushes the overall total to more than $4.2 billion across 47 companies and organizations, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters Monday.
The US has seen a 71% decline in encounters since August 2021 from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras at the southwest border, a senior administration official told reporters.
But overall encounters at the US-Mexico border remain near historic highs, due to surges in migration from other countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti more recently. Biden last month expanded a program allowing the government to quickly expel migrants from those countries using a public health authority known as Title 42, while allowing 30,000 people per month to apply to live and work legally in the US.
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