Why the Biden-Harris Administration’s ‘Root Causes’ Strategy Is Not a Solution to Border Security

When the Biden-Harris administration took office, it promised the American people that its immigration strategy would “address the root causes of displacement and emigration.” It defined the root causes as “lack of economic opportunity, poor governance, corruption, crime, violence, climate change, and gender-based violence,” among other things. Many of these problems have plagued countries, particularly in the Northern Triangle, for decades and are not simple, short-term, monetary fixes. While U.S. aid certainly makes a positive difference in benevolent countries, this strategy is not enough to secure the border or address immigration problems. The ongoing crisis at the southern border is illustrative of how the Biden-Harris administration is focused on addressing the root causes, but has failed to implement deterrence measures and proper law enforcement mechanisms. Below is an analysis of the key reasons why the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to addressing the root causes is not a successful strategy for solving the current border crisis:

Troublingly, their strategy embraces the “throw money at the problem” approach without the right strings attached. When the Biden-Harris administration announced $4 billion in aid to Northern Triangle countries to address root causes, they essentially promised to provide that money to regional NGOs and civil society organizations for the duration of their time in office. This funding could, for example, support loans to a small business or help get an infrastructure project off the ground. This is an effective way to provide foreign aid, but it is not a strategy for stopping immigration pull factors to the U.S. border. Working with other countries to rebuild their economies or prevent crime are long-term efforts. Unless countries are required to deliver results and make progress in discouraging migrants from making the journey to the U.S., the money will lack accountability and the results will be inadequate.

As a result of the primary focus on root causes at the expense of deterrence and immigration enforcement, there have been record numbers of illegal alien apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Biden-Harris administration. The strategy of processing and releasing illegal aliens who reach the southern border creates tension with the stated goals of the root causes strategy. In just one example, part of the 2021 root causes strategy includes efforts to combat “organized crime” in Central America. However, deliberate decisions by the Biden-Harris administration to end border deterrence policies, restore catch and release, and exempt nearly all illegal aliens from deportation have only enriched organized crime (i.e., Mexican drug cartels) like never before.

An effective strategy for providing foreign aid, particularly to countries in Central and South America, requires recipients to make policy changes that are in the U.S. national interest. For example, to promote equal burden-sharing for asylum seekers in the region and reduce the exploitation of the U.S. asylum system, the Trump administration in 2019 froze aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras for their facilitation of illegal aliens into the U.S. Not wanting to lose their respective aid packages, both countries sat down to negotiate the historic Asylum Cooperative Agreements. The next America First administration should resume these negotiations after the Biden-Harris administration terminated them all.

In recent years, El Salvador has been the most significant root cause success story in the Northern Triangle. With strong leadership and transformational policies from President Nayib Bukele, the country’s history of corruption and gang violence has been dramatically reversed. Salvadoran citizens now enjoy public safety, a stronger economy, and a government committed to investigating and rooting out our corruption. As conditions in El Salvador have improved, the number of migrants leaving for the U.S. has steadily declined over the past three years. The lesson here is that while foreign aid is important, it is one part of a larger solution to improve governance and promote freedom abroad. Strong political leadership with the courage to implement reforms and combat corruption in benevolent countries is also critical.

America First Solutions

To stop the flow of illegal aliens across our southern border, we need America First policies that weaken the cartels, gang members, and other destabilizing forces that impede the possibility of healthy government and civil society abroad. This can be accomplished by making foreign aid conditional on meeting high standards of cooperation and ensuring maximum accountability for U.S. tax dollars. But ultimately, the U.S. must prioritize policies that secure the southern border and impose consequences on those who cross illegally. This could include imposing stiffer penalties for human smuggling, human trafficking, and money laundering of illegal drugs that occur within the U.S. After more than three years of the worst border crisis in U.S. history, the American people deserve a robust strategy of short-term and long-term policies that secure the border, end human trafficking, and defeat the cartels.