WASHINGTON Reuters - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will announce new investments in Central America from companies such as Pepsico and Cargill that boost her efforts to lower migration from the region into the United States on Monday.
Harris secured private sector investments in the region worth over $1.2 billion, according to senior White House officials. In May, a similar round of $750 million was announced by companies such as Microsoft and Mastercard.
In March, President Joe Biden tasked Harris with leading the U.S. efforts with Mexico and the so-called Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to lower migration from the region.
Harris chose to address the root causes of corruption, poverty, violence, and the causes that drive people to leave their homes, and has visited Guatemala and Mexico. She has also had talks with leaders from those countries, including Xiomara Castro, the newly elected President of Honduras.
The announcement comes at a time of high-profile departures from her office due to concerns over her communication strategy and how well the first woman to hold the U.S. vice president is positioning herself for future political positions.
The vice president has thought about advancing her work in the region since the start, and she believes that this will not just require a lot of government effort, but key private sector actors and investors to bring greater economic development to the region, a senior White House official said.
Another White House official said the work done so far to pursue Harris' goals has helped realign U.S. foreign aid money, bring key stakeholders together, and secured more resources from the United Nations.
Consumer goods manufacturer Pepsico plans to invest at least $190 million in Northern Central America through 2025, which includes improvements to existing manufacturing plants and expansion of distribution routes.
Over the next five years, Global commodities trader Cargill will invest $150 million to help farmers and create jobs in the Northern Triangle countries. Parkdale Mills, which produces spun yarn and cotton products, will build a new spinning facility in Honduras and invest $150 million.
This month, U.S. officials said that the Biden administration will restart a contentious border program put in place by his predecessor, Donald Trump, that forces asylum seekers to wait for U.S. immigration hearings in Mexico, in keeping with a federal court order.
Biden's first year in office has been a humbling time to reverse many Trump-era hardline immigration policies. Arrests on the U.S. border to Mexico reached a record 1.7 million in the fiscal year 2021, which ended in September.