Biden to urge companies to invest in Mexico, Central America to curb migration

The Biden administration plans to curb illegal immigration at the U.S. southern border by asking private companies to invest in Mexico and Central America, according to a report.

The White House could not be immediately reached by Fox News, but White House border czar Roberta Jacobson said the administration will speak with companies about job creation and agricultural development in the coming weeks, reported Bloomberg.

Though Jacobson will be stepping down from her post at the end of April – a move she committed to in serving the administration for the first 100 days of the Biden presidency – she believes economic investment in the Triangle Nations will prompt change.

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"It is not going to turn around 100 percent in these countries in four years or even eight years," she said referring to the poverty-stricken northern triangle in Central America, encompassing Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

"It has to be a longer-term effort," she continued. "But I do think you can expect to see changes within four years that show us things are working and we will adjust along the way."

Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with addressing the "root causes" within Latin American countries that spur migration. Fox News could not reach her office for confirmation on whether she will be directly communicating with U.S. companies regarding investment options.

But apart from issues surrounding human rights and corruption in Central America, the U.S. faces diplomatic challenges in working with nations in the Northern Triangle.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle, Ricardo Zuniga, granted $2 million in funding for an international commission, whose aim is to tackle corruption in Guatemala, earlier this week.

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But he was less successful in his Thursday trip to El Salvador, as President Nayib Bukele refused to meet with the him.

Bukele reportedly felt snubbed by the Biden administration during an unannounced trip he took to Washington just weeks after President Biden entered the White House, when administration officials allegedly refused to see him.

The continuous stream of migrants is proving an immediate challenge for the new administration – leading Republicans and some Democrats to criticize Biden’s position on how to best address mass migration.

The border czar traveled to Mexico late last month to speak with top officials on how to stem the flow of migration, along with the best forms of economic investments in the U.S.’s neighbor.

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Biden introduced a spending package Friday that would provide $861 million to fight corruption and counter "root causes" that contribute to mass migration. The funding would be "part of a comprehensive strategy" to spend $4 billion in an attempt to stabilize the region.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.