Mike Pence says U.S. is “the most welcoming home for immigrants in human history”

After weeks of controversy surrounding the previous “zero tolerance” immigration policy and the separation of immigrant children from their parents, President Trump signed an executive order that will stop family separation at the border. In response to this decision, Mike Pence has praised the president’s actions and stated that the U.S. is “the most welcoming home for immigrants in human history.”

This was not the only controversial statement that the vice-president said during the press briefing. He also delivered somewhat of a warning to illegal immigrants coming to the U.S., stating that “if you can’t come legally, don’t come at all.” This harsh rhetoric also targets immigrants who come illegally to the U.S. and ask for asylum from violence in their home countries.

The aid that the U.S. has given said Central American countries was praised by Pence, yet he didn’t address that the Trump administration has decided to not provide assistance to three of said countries – Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. He also wrongly attributed an aid of  $2.6 billion for those countries to the current administration, while it was appropriated during the Obama administration. The three excluded countries are usually struggling with violence and crime, which causes for their citizens to flee them and go to the U.S.-Mexico border asking for asylum.

Pence has recently been on a trip through Latin America and made a joint press conference with Brazilian President Michel Temer where he addressed the situation with the countries.  He stated:

“Under President Trump, the United States is renewing our commitment to address the root causes behind the crisis that we face. At this moment, the United States has invested significant resources already to help Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador stop the flow of drugs and cripple the criminal syndicates that plague the region.”

The latter was yet another lie at the press conference, as statistics from the U.S. Agency for International Development have shown that the Trump administration has significantly lowered the U.S.’ financial support to said countries.  When comparing the spending related to aid for these countries in the 2017 and 2018 fiscal year, the difference between the former and the latter is abysmal. For example, in 2017 Honduras was aided $146.93 million, and in the following fiscal year it was awarded a little over $20 million.

The Trump administration has also ended the Central American Minors program last year, which used to bring thousands of eligible children and family members to the U.S. as refugees. The program helped parents who lived legally in the U.S. to bring their children with them, who were formerly living in Central America. This could only be approved after an extensive series of tests, background checks and interviews. Early last year, the program was ended without notifying accepted applicants.

Pence’s discouragement for immigrants to come to the U.S. is similar to the approach that Customs and Border Protection has taken in recent years. Through a series of ads in Spanish, they attempted to encourage possible migrants “against the unnecessary loss of life, extortion, and [to] educate individuals on the hazards and dangers migrants endure on their journey to the north by the hands of human smugglers, traffickers, and transnational criminal organizations.” The ads are no longer running.

A commissioner from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently had an interview with ABC News, where he addressed the situation with those countries, who are often referred to as the “Northern Triangle”. He stated: “We need to widen our lens. We’re not thinking about what’s happening on the Central American side – how do we engage with those governments to support prosperity, governance, and security so that people don’t feel compelled to leave their homes.”