Vice President Mike Pence and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will meet with the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras on Thursday to discuss the immigration crisis at the southern border of the U.S., the White House announced Tuesday. The meeting is set to take place in Guatemala. Pence had been scheduled to make a trip to the country to meet with survivors of the eruption of the Volcano of Fire, which killed at least 62 people this month. Further details about the visit were not available. The meeting comes amid an intense public debate over the Trump administration’s immigration policy, which has resulted in more than 2,000 migrant children being separated from their parents and spread across the United States. Advertisement Lawsuit alleges improper medication of migrant children in federal shelters » Images and audio recordings of children in metal cages at government-run facilities set off an international outcry and prompted President Trump to sign an executive order last week aimed at ending family separations. Yet, on Capitol Hill, the debate over a comprehensive immigration overhaul rages on, with little certainty about a solution. After a hard-line immigration bill fell short of passage in the House last week, Senate Republicans are pressing ahead this week with plans to vote on a narrower measure aimed at fixing a flaw in Trump’s executive order and allowing children to stay longer with their parents in detention. There was a lack of clarity Tuesday as to whether the Senate might act on that measure before leaving town for its July 4 recess. Pence is currently in Brazil, where he is set to meet with Brazilian President Michel Temer. He is expected to travel to Ecuador on Wednesday and then to Guatemala. In addition to U.S. immigration policy, Pence’s talks with Latin American leaders are expected to focus on the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Latin American countries such as Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador had come out strongly this month in opposition to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on immigration. The bulk of the separated migrant children came from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, officials say. The latest in immigration news »<doc-sep>Vice President Mike Pence demanded that Central American nations do more to stem illicit immigration, charging that few asylum seekers from the region had legitimate claims to safe haven in the United States. “This exodus must end,” Pence told a meeting of leaders here Thursday from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — which make up the so-called Northern Triangle that produces much of the illegal migration traffic to the U.S.-Mexico border. “While many claim asylum, few are fleeing prosecution,” Pence said. The comments came as the Trump administration has faced global condemnation for its now-discontinued “zero tolerance” policy, which resulted in the separation of more than 2,000 children from their families — mostly Central Americans. The U.S. vice president did not mention the family-separation issue. Advertisement President Trump reversed the policy last week, but numerous questions remain about how divided families will be reunited. Pence focused on what he characterized as the shortcomings of Central American nations in failing to stem illegal immigration to the United States. For years, U.S. authorities have rejected most Central American asylum applicants, deeming them economic migrants rather than refugees fleeing persecution because of various qualifying factors — such as race, religion, nationality or political opinion. The Trump administration has reacted skeptically to the notion that people fleeing gang violence — which is endemic in the three nations — should qualify for asylum. That stance has angered human rights advocates here and in the United States. “Just as we respect your borders and your sovereignty, we insist that you respect ours,” Pence said. “Our nation needs your nations to do more.” He added, “Tell your people that coming to the United States illegally will only result in a hard journey and a harder life.” The vice president called on the Central American countries to take a number of specific steps, including increasing the ranks of border police, enhancing anti-gang and anti-corruption efforts and removing “public advertisements for human traffickers within your nations” — the last an apparent reference to travel agencies, transport companies and other firms that publicly offer to facilitate trips to the U.S.-Mexico border. “Don’t risk your lives or the lives of your children by coming to the United States on the road run by drug smugglers and human traffickers,” Pence said in a message to the Central American people. “Hold on to your homes and your homeland. Hold on to your children. Build your lives in your homes.” Advertisement There was no mention from Pence of past U.S. interventions in Central America or Washington’s past support for repressive Central American governments — a factor often cited by advocates seeking less restrictive U.S. immigration policy. Central America, once a crucial Cold War battleground, has lately figured in U.S. policy mostly because it is a source of immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally and a transshipment point for cocaine destined for the United States. Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are home to the bulk of Central American asylum seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Central American migrants, including many minors, have increasingly begun to outnumber Mexican nationals illegally crossing into the U.S. Most make a long and dangerous trek through Mexico to reach the border. Advertisement The vice president’s stop here continues a Latin American swing for Pence, who, while in Brazil, publicly discouraged Central Americans from making the journey through Mexico and to the U.S. border. But critics say that is unlikely to stem the flow of people seeking to escape violence in their homelands. “I think the president and the vice president should go read what’s on the Statue of Liberty again,” said Mike Donovan, president of Nexus Services, which has funded lawsuits and other efforts on behalf of children separated from their parents. Immigration advocates argue that Pence should use his meeting with Central American leaders to focus on what they called a long-neglected issue: the root causes driving so many migrants to flee their home countries. Advertisement “The administration has been concentrating too long on how to stop people from entering rather than why they’re coming,” said Maureen Meyer, director for Mexico and migrant rights at the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy and research group. Those factors include gang violence, drug-related slayings, political killings and abysmal economic conditions. The Trump administration, however, is more likely to heed so-called immigration restrictionists, who want to reduce the number of immigrants in the U.S. and represent an important segment of the president’s base of supporters. Under the Obama administration, Vice President Joe Biden spearheaded a nearly $1-billion program for Central America that helped finance police reform and development projects. But the Trump administration is seeking to slash aid to Central America by at least a third. Advertisement Trump has frequently complained that “Mexico is doing nothing” to help the U.S. immigration problem. But migrants fleeing the Northern Triangle countries are often stopped in Mexico and sent home. Mexico has detained nearly 140,000 migrants from January 2017 to April of this year, according to the Mexican government. The vast majority were Central Americans. The practice has been criticized by human rights activists who say many of the migrants are mistreated by Mexican immigration authorities and denied a proper opportunity to apply for asylum. Julissa Reynoso, a former deputy assistant secretary of State for Central America and the Caribbean in the Obama administration, said that harsh penalties for crossing illegally into the United States cannot stop the flow. Advertisement “We have to do a much better job reinforcing institutions and opportunities” in the Northern Triangle countries, she said. “Unless we emphasize economic development ... migrants will continue to take the risk to come.” , McDonnell reported from Guatemala City and Wilkinson from Washington. Special correspondents Carolina Gamazo and Liliana Nieto del Rio in Guatemala City and Cecilia Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report. patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com Twitter: @TracyKWilkinson UPDATES: Advertisement 8:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Pence’s statements about illegal immigration. This article was originally published at 4:20 p.m.<doc-sep>
Vice President Mike Pence, serving as an ambassador for President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration stance, told the leaders of three Central American countries Thursday night that they must respect America's borders and stop their citizens from coming to the U.S. "This exodus must end," Pence said to the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras after meeting with them in Guatemala City. "Just as we respect your borders and your sovereignty, we insist that you respect ours." "Our nation needs your nations to do more," the vice president added. With a blunt message, Pence, who was joined on his trip by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, listed all the methods the Trump administration was employing to stop illegal immigration, and directed the foreign leaders to tell "your people that coming to the United States illegally will only result in a hard journey and a harder life." Specifically, he asked the three presidents — Jimmy Morales of Guatemala, Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador and Juan Orlando Hernandez, of Honduras — to "take down public advertisements for human traffickers," "renew the fight against corruption, criminal groups, and gang violence," and to "strengthen" their own borders. The three countries, known as the Northern Triangle, have seen intensifying economic struggles and gang violence, which have led hundreds of thousands of their citizens to flee to the U.S. in search of a better life. More than 150,000 Guatemalans, Hondurans and Salvadorans have left their homes and journeyed to the southern border of the U.S., seeking to enter the country illegally, in 2018 alone, according to The Associated Press. Pence also addressed the citizens of the three nations in the televised speech, giving them his own set of instructions. "If you want to come to the United States, come legally, or don't come at all," he said. "If someone tells you they can bring you or your children to America outside the law, don’t believe them." "Don’t risk your lives or the lives of your children by trying to come to the United States on the road run by drug smugglers and human traffickers," Pence added. "Hold on to your homes and hold on to your children. Build your lives in your homes." Former Vice President Joe Biden recently wrote an op-ed about the Obama administration's efforts to curtail migration from those countries and the difficulties of doing so. Pence's visit comes as the Trump administration has taken drastic steps in recent weeks to curb the flow of illegal immigration from Central America, including the implementation of a "zero tolerance" policy of charging everyone who attempts to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. That policy, however, led to thousands of migrant children, some under a year old, being separated from their parents or legal guardians at the border and housed in detention centers. Trump signed an executive order this month reversing the policy, allowing families to be detained together instead. But it didn't stop the detention of children. Responding to Pence, the presidents of El Salvador and Honduras said they were pleased that Trump had signed the order to end the separation of parents and children but wanted to see the prompt reunification of the families. "I want to reiterate my governments resolve to overcome the issue with the separated families at the border. (We’re) working with U.S. authorities for a quick solution," said Ceren, of El Salvador. "It is vital for their psychological health to reunite them with heir parents." Hernandez, of Honduras, said Trump’s order was a "great step,” but added, “we also want protocols to resolve the issue of reunifying families."