Written by Robbie Piccirilli
There is a new bill in Congress called the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, and it is being contested. The bill encompasses plenty of issues, like creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
One of the points the bill is addressing the root causes of migration by giving $4 billion to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in a four-year-interagency plan. Certain conditions must be met in order to receive, like lowering corruption and violence.
The goal of giving money to these countries is to help their governments create a country where people are safe without having to migrate elsewhere. In my opinion, I don’t believe the U.S. should be giving Central America $4 billion.
I think the money should be spent on other issues that are happening right now in the U.S. Ever since President Biden stopped the fracking line near the Canada and U.S. border, the U.S. has had an oil problem. This action has led to an increase in gas prices, facilities closing and the situation at the border. Jobs have also been lost as a result of reduced fracking, which creates a big problem for Americans in the future. Now our president wants to spend more money on other countries instead. The U.S. has always been seen as the hero country that needs to help others in need. While this is true to an extent, I believe that the American government should look out for the American citizen first before trying to solve the problems of other countries.
Also, it’s important to note that our relationship with Central America isn’t the best at the moment since so many undocumented immigrants are crossing the border. The problem of undocumented immigrants leaving their countries is not a problem that can simply be solved by giving money to those countries. I see it as weak and non-caring to try and solve this situation with money.
Many of the problems in Central American countries are the corruption their government faces. Giving $4 billion to those governments will not result in their corruption disappearing, and it is hard to see how the regular citizens of those countries would benefit. Looking at this problem, I can say that it’s definitely something each individual country in Central America needs to solve. It’s not always the job of the U.S. to resolve other countries’ problems.
Giving Central America $4 billion in aid to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala seems like a bit much. I personally just don’t see why the U.S. needs to get involved financially since there are plenty of problems the country has to solve within its own borders.