Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday the federal government is making progress on addressing the root causes that lead people to flee Central America for the United States.

In a speech at the CEO Summit in Los Angeles, where the Summit of the Americas is being held this week, Harris touted the approach of using public-private partnerships to try to stem the tide of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and the response to her call to action in May 2021. 

“Here's how I see it: To realize a more prosperous future for our hemisphere, public-private partnerships are essential partnerships that combine the private sector and its experience and expertise with the reach and capacity that only governments can provide,” she said. “By working together, we can unleash growth and opportunity that far exceeds what either the public or the private sector would achieve on its own.”

President Joe Biden tasked Harris last year with trying to address the root causes of migration from northern Central America. El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras face significant problems with poverty, gang violence, government corruption and natural disasters while they still struggle to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Those factors have prompted many to flee in search of a better life in the U.S. 

In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 234,000 encounters with migrants at the Southwest border in April, the highest total in 22 years.

On Thursday, Harris made a trio of announcements aimed at tackling the problem. All rely on public, private and philanthropic partners. 

• Her call to action has secured more than $1.9 billion in new private sector commitments to create economic opportunity in northern Central America, bringing the total pledged so far to $3.2 billion.

• A Central American Service Corps is being created to provide young people in the region with paid community service opportunities, mentorship and a path to future employment.

• Mastercard, Microsoft and PepsiCo are among the companies and organizations that have committed to investing in a separate program that strives to improve women’s access to quality jobs and their chances for career growth in the Western Hemisphere.

“These are long-term efforts, and we are making progress,” the vice president said.

Harris said her vision for the region was to see, for example, a single mother with no formal education and who never had steady work be hired by a beverage company that made new investments in her hometown, have disposable income, build savings and use new internet service in the area to gain access to tools that eventually lead her to receive a grant, open a business and hire employees.

“This scenario is then our vision for millions of people as part of our strategy to address the root causes of migration from Central America,” she said. 

Harris explained there are three principles to the strategy.

• She doesn’t believe people want to leave their home countries but are propelled to do so because they are fleeing harm or cannot provide for their families

• Issuing a call to action to the private sector because government alone cannot fix the problem

• A strategy is needed that prioritizes combatting corruption, promoting the rule of law, reducing violence and empowering women.  

“Together, we are creating an ecosystem of opportunity,” Harris said. “ … I believe truly that our approach can indeed be applied elsewhere on other issues in other parts of our hemisphere, and even by other governments. When I think about all the challenges we face in the Western Hemisphere.”

In an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., called Harris’ approach “self-delusion.”

“The root cause of illegal immigration is that people are coming into our country illegally, and people are coming into our country illegally because you and President Biden are letting the men in,” Kennedy said. “Enforce the law.”