The United States is considering a conditional cash transfer program to help address economic woes that lead migrants from certain Central American countries to trek north, a senior White House official told Reuters on Friday.
Flora Bradley-Watson reports.
The U.S. is considering sending money to Central Americans in an attempt to stem the flow of migration.
A senior White House official told Reuters the program would aim to address the economic woes pushing people to move.
There's been a steady increase in arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months.
Some 168,000 people were picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents in March - the highest monthly tally in twenty years.
Roberta Jacobson, the White House's southern border coordinator, said the potential program would be targeted at people in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
She told Reuters: "We're looking at all of the productive options to address both the economic reasons people may be migrating, as well as the protection and security reasons." Republicans have already hit out at the idea.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday that the idea was insulting to millions of Americans out of work.
Republicans also blame the recent surge in arrivals on Biden's decision to reverse former President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies.
Biden has instead called for $4 billion in development aid to Central America over four years to address the underlying causes of migration.
On Friday, the White House requested $861 million from Congress for that effort in Biden's first annual budget proposal.
By Hamzeh Hadad
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