Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:32 pm
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) criticized President Joe Biden and his administration for a plan to provide $4 billion in aid to the Northern Triangle region to “build security and prosperity†in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
“How about some compassion for America and the taxpayers?” Greene asked, imploring that the Biden administration use the funds “TO FINISH THE DAMN WALL,” hearkening back to former President Donald Trump’s calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Joe Biden wants to give $4 BILLION to the Northern Triangle because he’s compassionate to immigrants.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
How about some compassion for America and the taxpayers?
Spend the $4 BILLION TO FINISH THE DAMN WALL JOE!
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) June 8, 2021
Greene’s remarks are misleading, however. The Biden administration has not formally pledged $4 billion to the Northern Triangle just yet. That number is reflected on Biden’s campaign website and not in official White House documentation.
“The Western Hemisphere has the potential to be secure, democratic, and prosperous from the northern reaches of Canada all the way to the southern tip of Chile. Critical to achieving this goal is ensuring that the nations of Central America–especially El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the Northern Triangle countries–are strong, secure, and capable of delivering futures of opportunity for their own people,” the plan reads.
It later adds that the United States under Biden “will renew the U.S. commitment to tackling the root causes driving migration with an integrated, four-year, $4 billion regional strategy that would, among other things, “countries to allocate a substantial amount of their own resources and undertake significant, concrete, and verifiable reforms” and invest “primarily in civil society organizations that are on the frontlines of addressing root causes.”
Greene’s remarks also run counter to Vice President Kamala Harris’s remarks on migration and commitment to border security.
Speaking from Guatemala City during a joint news conference with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Harris announced that the American government would partner with Guatemalan prosecutors to tackle corruption in the region. She also stressed that migrants should not come to the United States as they risk being turned back at the border.
“As one of our priorities, we will discourage illegal migration. And I believe if you come to our border you will be turned back,” she said. “Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.”
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
