President Biden hosted officials from 11 countries in the Western Hemisphere on Friday for a meeting that included addressing the region’s historic influx of migrants by strengthening the economies of Mexico, Ecuador, Panama and other countries.
During the two-hour meeting at the White House, Mr. Biden announced new efforts to work with the Inter-American Development Bank to help countries in the region modernize their digital and physical infrastructure and to work with countries to help entrepreneurs start new businesses in the region entire region to help the hemisphere.
He also announced initiatives aimed at supporting supply chains across the region in areas such as clean energy, semiconductors and medical supplies, helping countries in the Americas reduce their dependence on China and other countries around the globe.
“In each of our countries, our people are young, dynamic and diverse and ready to meet the future,” Mr. Biden said as he opened the meeting in the East Room. “I think they really are. All we have to do is move on and continue to achieve a positive vision that we all share: a region that is safe, prosperous and democratic.”
One goal, officials say, is to boost the economies of countries in the region so they can better absorb the millions of migrants fleeing poverty, political instability and natural disasters.
Dealing with the impact of migration at the border with Mexico has been one of Mr. Biden’s biggest challenges since he took office in early 2021. Record numbers of migrants have attempted to enter the United States illegally, many from Venezuela and other troubled countries.
Republicans have seized on the issue as one of their main attacks on Mr Biden’s administration. They say the president has not been tough enough at the border and accuse the White House of endangering U.S. national security by not taking tougher measures to stop people from entering the country.
But the president’s fight to prevent migrants from entering the country has also caused division and anger among Democratic officials in states where the cost of caring for migrants is straining their budgets. Republican governors in Texas and Florida have bused thousands of migrants to Democratic-run cities to draw attention to the problem.
On Thursday, Democratic mayors from several of the United States’ largest cities traveled to Washington, D.C., to urge White House officials and lawmakers to do more to allow migrants to work legally in the country.
“All newcomers coming to our cities are looking for an opportunity to work, and every day we receive calls from business leaders who have job openings and want to hire these newcomers,” the mayors wrote to Mr. Biden. “The only obstacle to our ability to help ourselves are federal restrictions on work permits.”
Last month, Mr. Biden took steps to increase the number of migrants who can work legally in the United States. But White House officials said Friday’s meeting was an opportunity to work on longer-term efforts that could minimize the number of migrants trying to come to the United States.
Mr. Biden announced the launch of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity during a summit of the region’s leaders in Los Angeles in the summer of 2022. Members of the Americas Partnership include Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.
White House officials said Mexico and Panama were represented by their foreign ministers on Friday. The leaders of the other nine countries were in the White House.
Several of the countries whose top officials attended Friday’s meeting have already welcomed many of the migrants fleeing Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti or other economically struggling countries. A White House official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting before it took place, said Mr. Biden wanted to reward those countries with additional economic aid.
The official said the burden on the United States is lessened when other countries accept migrants from the region. The aim of Friday’s meeting is to help those countries do more of the same, the official said.
“Across the region, entrepreneurs are ready to break out,” Mr. Biden said. “Investors are changing the way we think. The workers are ready to roll up their sleeves. We will ensure they have the skills and resources they need to succeed.”