Scott Farner
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Comments by "Scott Farner" (@scottfarner5100) on "'She Was Assigned It... She Didn't Come To The Border': GOP Lawmaker Sounds Off On Kamala Harris" video.
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Transcripts - "In addition to that, there’s about five other major things she’s handling, but I’ve asked her, the VP, today — because she’s the most qualified person to do it — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border.
And, you know, back when I was Vice President, I got a similar assignment, but one of the things we did was we made sure that we got a bipartisan agreement with Democrats and Republicans to provide over $700 million to the countries in the Northern Triangle to determine the best way to keep people from coming is keep them from wanting to leave.
And the reason why so many people were leaving, we learned, was that not only gang violence and trafficking and cartels, but natural disasters, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes. And so it’s not like someone sits around a hand-hewnen [sic] — hand-hewn table somewhere in Guatemala and says, “I’ve got a great idea: Let’s sell everything we have, give the money to a coyote, have him take our kids or us to the border of America, take us across, leave us in the desert. We don’t speak the language. Won’t that be fun?”
One of the ways we learned is that if you deal with the problems in country, it benefits everyone. It benefits us, it benefits the people, and it grows the economies there.
Unfortunately, the last administration eliminated that funding — did not engage in it, did not use it — even though there was over $700 million to help get this done. We’re reinstituting that program. And there are — as I said, there are many factors as to why people leave in the first place.
But this is — this is the — the source of one of the reasons why we’ve had such a — before we took office, in the midst of the last administration’s somewhat draconian policies of separating children from their parents, et cetera, what happened was that we — we found that there were a serious spike in the number of people heading to the southern border, even in the midst of that. And as — as Alejandro can tell you, is that was because there were serious natural disasters that occurred in those countries. They were coming north, and we did nothing to do any — much about it.
So this new surge we’re dealing with now started with the last administration, but it’s our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to — and to stop what’s happening.
And so, this increase has been consequential, but the Vice President has agreed — among the multiple other things that I have her leading — and I appreciate it — agreed to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept re- — the returnees, and enhance migration enforcement at their borders — at their borders.
We’re already talking with Mexico about that; she’s already done that. We’re going to be dealing with a full team now that we have to be able to deal with the problem here at home, but also to deal with it now in terms of in country.
And I can think of nobody who — who is better qualified to do this than a former — this is a woman who ran the second-largest attorney general’s office in America — after the U.S. — after the United States Attorney General — in the state of California, and has done a great deal upholding human rights, but also fighting organized crime in the process.
So it’s not her full responsibility and job, but she’s leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who, when he or she speaks, they don’t have to wonder about is that where the President is. When she speaks, she speaks for me. Doesn’t have to check with me. She knows what she’s doing, and I hope we can move this along.
But — so, Madam Vice President, thank you. I gave you a tough job, and you’re smiling, but there’s no one better capable of trying to organize this for us.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Mr. President and for having the confidence in me. And there’s no question that this is a challenging situation. As the President has said, there are many factors that lead precedent to leave these countries. And while we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we also — because we can chew gum and walk at the same time — must address the root causes that — that cause people to make the trek, as the President has described, to come here.
And I look forward to engaging in diplomacy with government, with private sector, with civil society, and — and the leaders of each in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, and ensure shared prosperity in the region.
We will collaborate with Mexico and other countries throughout the Western hemisphere. And as part of this effort, we expect that we will have collaborative relationships to accomplish the goals the President has and that we share.
I also look forward to working with members of the Congress who, I think, share our perspective on the need to address root causes for the migration that we’ve been seeing. And needless to say, the work will not be easy, but it is important work. It is work that we demand — and the people of our countries, I believe, need — to help stem the tide that we have seen.
So thank you, Mr. President, for your confidence. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you for willing to do it. Now we’re going to get down to business here. And, Ron, who am I turning this over to?"
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@I_amFrankEinstein July 29, 2021
FACT SHEET: Strategy to Address the Root Causes of Migration in Central America
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On February 2, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order that called for the development of a Root Causes Strategy.
Since March, Vice President Kamala Harris has been leading the Administration’s diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. She has worked with bilateral, multilateral, and private sector partners, as well as civil society leaders, to help people from the region find hope at home. This complements work done throughout the U.S. government over the last six months to learn lessons from prior efforts and to consult with a wide range of stakeholders to inform the development of this strategy.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing the Root Causes Strategy—a core component of our Administration’s efforts to establish a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system. This Strategy identifies, prioritizes, and coordinates actions to improve security, governance, human rights, and economic conditions in the region. It integrates various U.S. government tools, including diplomacy, foreign assistance, public diplomacy, and sanctions.
Implementation of the Strategy will rely on the expertise of a wide range of U.S. departments and agencies, with support from governments in and outside the region, civil society, the private sector, multilateral organizations, international financial institutions, and the U.S. Congress. These partnerships will bolster the impact of the Strategy through informing programmatic interventions, leveraging political will, and mobilizing necessary resources. The U.S. government will coordinate a place-based approach, targeting those areas where migrants are most likely to come from.
The Strategy is organized into five pillars:
Pillar I: Addressing economic insecurity and inequality;
Pillar II: Combating corruption, strengthening democratic governance, and advancing the rule of law;
Pillar III: Promoting respect for human rights, labor rights, and free press;
Pillar IV: Countering and preventing violence, extortion, and other crimes perpetrated by criminal gangs, trafficking networks, and other organized criminal organizations; and
Pillar V: Combating sexual, gender-based, and domestic violence.
The Vice President and the Administration have already taken action – notable accomplishments include:
Addressing immediate humanitarian needs including vaccines. On April 26, Vice President Harris announced $310 million in urgent relief to help address the acute factors of migration, including from hurricanes, the pandemic, and drought caused by climate change. To date, we have allocated over $250 million of the total funds, reaching over two million people. We also provided over 10 million COVID vaccine doses to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Countering corruption and democratic backsliding. Vice President Harris has been direct and unwavering in highlighting the problems of corruption, the need for reforms, and the vital importance of demonstrating commitment to the rule of law, judicial independence, human rights, and a strong civil society—including during her bilateral meeting in Guatemala. Working with the Department of Justice, the Vice President launched an Anticorruption Task Force that will include U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement experts to investigate and prosecute corruption cases with a nexus in the United States and the region.
Addressing security concerns of mutual interest. Vice President Harris launched Anti-Migrant Smuggling Task Forces in both Mexico and Guatemala and secured commitments to increase border enforcement. She reached an agreement with the Mexican government to restart the high-level dialogue focused on the trafficking of weapons and drugs.
Internationalizing our efforts. The Vice President has said, “The United States cannot do this work alone.” She has reached out to international partners to highlight the need for increased support for Central America and secured commitments from a number of countries. She successfully encouraged the United Nations to develop a regional Humanitarian Response Plan to mobilize international donor support for the region.
Working with the private sector. On May 27, Vice President Harris launched a Call to Action for the private sector to make new commitments in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to expand economic opportunities. The initial group of 12 companies and organizations committed to helping over 13 million people, offered to provide $750 million in resources, and established a non-profit organization to support economic development efforts in the region – The Partnership for Central America. These initial commitments will provide financial services to small business owners, internet access and digital banking to rural communities, housing for low-income families, and reduced barriers to higher education. Since the launch, over 150 companies and organizations have expressed interest in joining the Call to Action.
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