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1 1 (February 16, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govechl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: -- iq--- I Se es v - 0 Updated February 16,2021 U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: An Overview Introduction Central America has received considerable attention from U.S. policymakers over the past decade, as it has become a major transit corridor for illicit narcotics and a top source of irregular migration to the United States. In FY2019, U.S. authorities at the southwest border apprehended nearly 608,000 unauthorized migrants fromEl Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (the Northern Triangle of Central America); 81% of those apprehended were families or unaccompanied minors, many ofwhomwere seeking asylum(see Figure 1). Although the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted illicit trafficking and irregular migration flows in FY2020, many analysts expect a resurgence once governments throughoutthe Western Hemisphere begin lifting border restrictions. Figure 1. U.S. Apprehensions of Northern Triangle Nationals at the Southwest Border FY20 1 I -FY2020 4@ Hondurans -#Guatemalans -0Salvadordns 300,00 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,yooo o o 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Fiscal Year Sources: U.S. Customs and Border Protection,U.S. Border Patrol Nationwide Apprehensions by CitizenshipandSector in FY2007- FY20 19; and U.S. Border Patrol Southwest BorderApprehensions by Sector Fiscal Year 2020, press release, November 19, 2020. Note: FY2020 data include both apprehensions and public health expulsions for March 2020-September2020. These narcotics and migrant flows are the latest symptoms of deep-rooted challenges in the region, including widespread insecurity, fragile political and judicial system, and high levels of poverty and unemployment. In 2014, the Obama Administration determined that it was in the national security interests of the United States to workwith Central American governments to improve living conditions in the region. It approved a new U.S. Strategy for Engagementin CentralAmerica and, with congressional support, more than doubled annualforeign aid to the region. The Trump Administration repeatedly sought to scale back funding for the CentralAmerica strategy. It proposed significant year-on-year assistance cuts for the region in each of its annualbudget requests and suspended most aid for the Northern Triangle in March 2019, two years into the strategy's on-the-ground implementation. Congress chose not to adopt many of the proposed cuts, but annual funding for the Central America strategy declined from$750 million in FY2017 to $505.9 million in FY2021-a nearly 33% drop over four years (see Figure 2). Both Congress and the Biden Administration have called for a reexamination of U.S. policy toward Central America in 2021. Funding FromFY2016 to FY2021, Congress appropriated more than $3.6 billion to implement the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America. Congres s has divided appropriations relatively evenly between bilateral as sistance programs focused on good governance, economic growth, and social welfare and Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) programs intended to prevent violence, reform justice-sector institutions, and combat gangs and organized crime. U.S. agencies have allocated the majority of funds to the Northern Triangle countries. Annual appropriations measures haverequired the State Department to withhold a portion that aid, however, until the Northern Triangle governments take steps to improveborder security, combat corruption, protecthumanrights, and address other congressionalconcerns. https://crs reports.congr

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