Biden found compromise in promise to invest $4 billion in Central American to mitigate immigration

During his 2020 campaign, President Joe Biden promised to provide financial assistance to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, also known as the Northern Triangle countries, because of their location in Central America. Specifically, Biden's campaign website said Biden would "propose a four-year, $4 billion package of assistance for the region."

On his first day in office, Biden proposed an immigration bill that included $4 billion for the Northern Triangle countries to mitigate the factors pushing people to migrate to the United States.

In May 2021, Democrats in Congress introduced the bill, which would have appropriated $1 billion a year. Half the money could be used immediately toward the initiative's goals. The remaining money would be available after the U.S. determined that the respective foreign governments had taken steps to address corruption and adopted policies and programs to reduce poverty and counter violence.

Although Democrats narrowly controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate during Biden's first two years, the bill stalled.

In March 2021, Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with leading U.S. diplomatic efforts and working with officials in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to stem migration to the U.S. Biden had a similar task under former Barack Obama's administration and secured $700 million to help Central American countries address the problems that drove people toward the United States.

In April 2021, Harris said the U.S. government would provide $310 million in urgent relief "to help address the acute factors of migration, including from hurricanes, the pandemic, and drought caused by climate change."

In July 2021, the White House published a strategy to address the factors that drive people to migrate from Central America. As part of the strategy, the White House said it would work with private companies to secure financial investments for the region. It also said $250 million of the $310 million had been allocated.

As of March 2024, the White House's partnership had secured $5.2 billion from the private sector; companies such as MasterCard, Gap and Meta were among the investors. The money included construction projects to create jobs, small-business loans and job training. However, only about $1 billion has been distributed, Partnership for Central America, a group working with the administration, reported in March 2024, its latest quarterly update.

The White House reported in March that  the investments have generated more than 70,000 new jobs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, provided job training to 1 million people and expanded internet access to 4.5 million people. 

Biden secured more than $5 billion in private financing for Central America and more than a billion dollars have been distributed. However, most of that money came from private organizations. Biden did not manage to get the $4 billion federal assistance package he had promised. We rate this Compromise.