Federal agency in DOGE’s crosshairs played key role in Harris’ strategy to curb migrant crisis
When the Biden administration launched its strategy to tackle “root causes” of migration at the southern border during a time of rapidly rising and historic illegal immigration, the now-frozen United States Agency for International Development (USAID) played a significant role.
During the Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked with leading diplomacy in Latin America to tackle the root causes, identified as issues like gang violence, climate change and poverty. It consisted of both government initiatives and funding from private organizations.
USAID, which was frozen in recent days over concerns about misspending, played a key role in the distribution of funds. While certain operations have been halted to get a full picture of USAID funding to the region, it is possible to get a glimpse of the help it provided.
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President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Feb. 7, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
In 2021, the first year of the Biden administration, USAID announced Centroamérica Local, a 5-year, $300 million initiative that funded organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address the root causes of migration to the U.S.
“Under this new initiative, Centroamérica Local, USAID intends to invest up to $300 million, subject to the availability of funds, toward engaging, strengthening, and funding local organizations to implement programs to advance sustainable and equitable economic growth, improve governance, fight corruption, protect human rights, improve citizen security, and combat sexual and gender-based violence,” USAID said in a statement at the time.
“These programs are being carried out under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Root Causes Strategy and deliver on the Agency’s goal to foster greater engagement with local organizations and communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and advance stability in the region.”
More was still to come.
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In 2022, USAID announced programs in Central America to end gender-based violence, including a $6.5 million program in Guatemala and a $2.7 million program in Honduras. That built off a program announced in El Salvadaor.
In March last year, Harris met with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and announced a planned investment of $135 million in USAID funding, alongside $170 million to aid development, economic health and security assistance.
Included in the announcement was an expansion of the Central American Service Corps, which was created in 2022 at the Summit of Americas. The expanded program was funded by USAID and aimed to reach 2,800 people seen at most risk of migrating by engaging them with volunteer work, employment and training.
Also announced for Guatemala was a USAID-implemented “Feed the Future” program to strengthen the capacity of research and education entities to scale agricultural technologies and to support research and education related to “climate smart” agriculture.
A flag outside U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
USAID was also to implement a new “Guatemala Biodiversity Conservation” program to promote the conservation of biodiversity and strengthen protected areas and other areas of ecological importance.
In September, USAID announced an additional $10.75 million in funding for Guatemala.
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That came after USAID invested over $153 million in Guatemala in 2023 to allegedly support the government in efforts to strengthen democracy and improve opportunities. According to a release, funded activities included “integrated rural and agricultural development, sustainable economic growth, support for the construction of climate-resilient infrastructure, and digital development and e-governance.”
Harris was dogged by the “border czar” title throughout her unsuccessful presidential bid as she largely dropped the root causes emphasis and instead focused on the Biden administration’s efforts to secure the border.
President Donald Trump’s administration has demonstrated a skepticism of the root causes strategy, both in its leaning in on border security and interior enforcement and also its moves to cut or freeze funding abroad.
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In his first week in office, Trump also rescinded Biden’s 2021 executive order creating a “comprehensive regional framework to address the causes of migration, to manage migration throughout North and Central America and to provide safe and orderly processing of asylum seekers at the United States border.”
He also revoked an executive order to rebuild and enhance programs to resettle refugees and plan for “the impact of climate change on migration.”
