Community Reactions to Cut-off in Foreign Assistance to Northern Triangle Countries

On April 1, 2019, more than 70 organizations issued a statement in response to announcements by the Trump Administration that it is ending foreign assistance programs in the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Over the next several weeks, InterAction members, partner organizations, and members of Congress have issued statements, reacted on social media, and published op-eds and reports in response to the announcement. InterAction issued two one-pagers on the impact of the proposed funding cut-off on USAID and member and partner programs, and on April 30, 2019, InterAction sent a community sign-on letter to Secretary Pompeo urging the administration to reconsider ending foreign assistance programs in Central America.

Reactions from partner organizations:

• Alliance for Peacebuilding
• The Alliance for International Youth Development
• CARE USA
• Catholic Relief Services: Statement and Op-Ed
• Evangelical Immigration Table
• Latin America Working Group
• Mercy Corps Statement and Report
• Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN)
• PLAN International USA
• U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC)
• World Vision: Statement and Op-Ed

Reactions to cut-off in aid from members of Congress:

• “…we are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump intends to cut off aid to the region. The President’s approach is entirely counterproductive.”- Statement from Reps. Eliot L. Engel, Jerrold Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Pramila Jayapal, and Adriano Espaillat
• “…stopping [aid] wholesale is going to exacerbate the problem…” –Interview with Rep. Will Hurd on NPR
• “…decision to cut off our assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras would undermine American interests and put our national security at risk” – Statement from Sen. Bob Menendez
• “Reducing support to CentAm & closing the border with Mexico would be counterproductive.”- Sen. Marco Rubio via Twitter
• “The decision to stop foreign assistance to Central America. . . is reckless and counterproductive.” – Statement from Sen. Ben Cardin
• “…the decision to cut funding will make the economic and security situations in Central America worse, not better, triggering more migration, not less, to the United States.” –House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul at HFAC hearing on foreign assistance to Central America
• “These cuts will only exacerbate the issue.” – Rep. Karen Bass via Twitter
• “I intend to review this attempt to circumvent #bipartisan support for foreign aid.” – Rep. Ami Bera via Twitter
• “Ultimately, this short-sighted and flawed decision lays the groundwork for the humanitarian crisis at our border to escalate further. We must work to stabilize these countries by continuing to provide critical aid and resources. We should not turn our back on our international partners or else we will never be able to effectively and comprehensively address the humanitarian crisis at our border.” – Statement from Rep. Joaquin Castro
• “[continuing aid] actually saves us money” – Salt Lake Tribune article quoting Rep. John Curtis
• “Foreign assistance is not charity. We invest in people and countries around the world because it is in our own national interest. Investing in diplomacy and development prevents the outbreak of conflict. It saves U.S. taxpayer dollars. Most importantly, it saves American lives by preventing the deployment of U.S. service members to dangerous parts of the world.” – Rep. Theodore Deutch at HFAC hearing on foreign assistance to Central America
• “The little bit of good news I’ve seen since this decision was announced is the complete, bipartisan rejection of this misguided and counterproductive decision.” – Rep. Eliot Engel at HFAC hearing on foreign assistance to Central America
• “This policy will ultimately fail if not abandoned – resulting in higher crime, fewer jobs, and incentivizing more mass migration.” – Statement from Rep. Vincente Gonzalez
• “Can you think of any precedent, historical precedent, in which the United States has urged another country to stop people from leaving?” – Rep. Tom Malinowski at HFAC hearing on foreign assistance to Central America
• “Closing our borders with Mexico and cutting aid to Central America is shortsighted and the wrong move for people and our economy.” – Rep. Dean Phillips via Twitter
• “Cutting off aid to countries terrorized by violence and overcome by devastating poverty is shameful.” – Rep. Juan Vargas via Twitter
• “Cutting aid only increases [Central Americans’] desperation.” – Sen. Jeff Merkley via Twitter
• “Cutting aid to Central American countries makes zero sense – if you want to decrease flows of asylum seekers then help fix conditions that lead families to flee in the first place. – Sen. Chris Murphy via Twitter
• “This assistance supports efforts to address the challenging economic and security conditions that help form the root causes of mass child and family migration to the United States. It also enables us to combat transnational gangs, like MS-13, that are a threat to our communities here at home. Assistance under the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America is having positive results, and while improvements can be made, we believe that cutting assistance would be counterproductive and lead to increased migration flows to the U.S.” – Letter to Secretary Pompeo from Reps. Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul
• “Millions of dollars in aid provided to communities through non-governmental organizations is now in jeopardy. Multiple programs that are demonstrating results—reducing violence at the local level, helping young people find jobs, and reducing the rates of malnutrition in rural areas—will be forced to close their doors. Non-governmental organizations and U.S. governmental entities who have made commitments to local partners will be forced to renege on those commitments,” – Letter to Secretary Pompeo from Reps. Norma J. Torres and Albio Sires