U.S. ending aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras over migrants

People are leaving these countries because of poverty, crime, and lawlessness. Cutting off aid is only going to make the problems worse.

It will make his base happy, though, and that’s what’s most important.

Great idea! Let's make the conditions in these countries worse resulting in increased family migration. Sounds like the perfect Trumpian "solution."

Families in terrible locations should leave those situations. Trump likes to pay for results. When no results happen, stop payment.

Shift the $500M to help asylum seekers who deserve it at the border. Unfortunately, 80% of those applying don't qualify and need to be deported.

Trump likes to pay for results. When no results happen, stop payment.

You clearly are unfamiliar with Dimwit's history as a "business person."

Un-freakin'-believable. If Trump can't pretend an immigration crisis, he certainly can manufacture one.

Excellent move, should have been done a long time ago. Just love this President more and more.

Great news. This sort of foreign aid doesn't help a country in disarray, and usually makes it worse in the long term. If people really care about these places, there are many ways to help. Feeling good about oneself by forcing other taxpayers to subsidize failing regimes is not kindness or helpful.

So he forces them to move their Israeli embassies thanks them by doing this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these countries the supposed alliance against the evil and dreaded Bolivarian socialist movement in Latin America?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/02/as-a-system-foreign-aid-is-a-fraud-and-does-nothing-for-inequality

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/02/does-aid-do-more-harm-than-good/

Take your pick, the first link for the lefties, the second link for the righties. Same conclusion. Instead of knee-jerk support for foreign, try to make a better system.

People are leaving these countries because of poverty, crime, and lawlessness. Cutting off aid is only going to make the problems worse.

The U.S. could triple the aid to these countries and they would still come in droves, plasticmonkey.

The best move ever.

Our tax dollars have been squandered enough to please our politicians and the big corporations trying to benefit from those countries.

The story about helping those in need within those countries, we know already, has been a "story" on the part of politicians and academics to legitimize such funding. It is already known that only a few percentage of those funds ever reach the needy. It takes actual physical presence and handing over physical items and physical assistance such as during disaster relief and not money.

(Having being a Red Cross volunteer and having gone to disaster sites, I am quire sure that "money" never reaches those in need. Interestingly, from what I was told, the head of red cross makes $ millions in salary per year and travels all over the world free.)

Excellent news. Why are we giving aid to countries who don’t use it to keep their people home?

“U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens," Menendez said in a statement.

Trump fans don’t care. They feel like victims that need to lash out, and they believe stopping aid will result in poor brown people getting less money, so that seals the deal for them.

But overall it’s stupid and hurts our foreign interests. Sucks when dumb can vote.

So not helping to improve life in the countries where illegals come from will encourage more of them to try and get in the country. Same as what is happening in Africa.

No, we did, that’s the problem. All the more reason to cut off the aid. If we send them the money and they can’t quell the unrest or stop people from leaving and ensuring them a better quality of life, then we don’t need to waste our money and support these governments, that’s their job, not ours.

Trump fans don’t care.

Democrats don’t care either, look at the throw away dirt poor immigrants populations or Los Angeles, the homelessness and their policies that further perpetuate these conditions.

They feel like victims that need to lash out, and they believe stopping aid will result in poor brown people getting less money, so that seals the deal for them. 

Has nothing to with the color of their skin, don’t you guys get tired of playing that same old tune? Lol

But overall it’s stupid and hurts our foreign interests. Sucks when dumb can vote.

As if liberals are now the fiscal hawks.

Foreign aid is not just handed out to countries to do whatever they want with it. The Foreign aid as pointed out by BigYen, usually goes for the benefit of business operating in that country. There are always strings and conditions attached.

Well, it got halted, so now what?

Trump just makes one his sweeping statement, mostly by twitter, and all of his supporters rush to the front proclaiming another of his brilliant ideas. Then blames it all on someone else.

And you can’t stop it either.

A lost to American companies operating in those countries.

Oh, well.

It will take a large truck to shut up megamouth Trump.

I doubt it. Lol

People are leaving these countries because of poverty, crime, and lawlessness. Cutting off aid is only going to make the problems worse.

Then why has there been a huge increase (unprecedented surge) in Central American asylum seekers arriving at the US-Mexico border from February to March ?

People are leaving these countries because of poverty, crime, and lawlessness.

So what, doesn’t mean we have to let them in or allow anyone to come in just because they want or feel they need to.

Cutting off aid is only going to make the problems worse.

Sending aid isn’t making things remotely better, but if aid is cut off, the border is sealed and the shock starts to set in to Latin America that this President is not playing will give these Latin countries pause before deciding trying to enter this country illegally.

Sucks when dumb can vote.

How true.

Let me help you out...

"U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens,"

Translation: "U.S. foreign assistance is not charity. We use it to bribe local warlords and corrupt politicians so that a select few businesspeople that we work with can be subsidized and make profits at the expense of the impoverished locals. And, of course, to protect American citizens (suppressed giggle "they believe that every time we say it!)."

Gotta be pretty dumb to swallow that one hook line and sinker. Interesting that among all the downvotes on informed comments that call foreign aid a failure, not one person has even attempted to make a counter-argument. Because, aside from "orange man bad," there is none.

Commanteer: Translation: "U.S. foreign assistance is not charity. We use it to bribe local warlords and corrupt politicians so that a select few businesspeople that we work with can be subsidized and make profits at the expense of the impoverished locals.

The US doesn't hand over money to foreign governments. A vast majority of aid is given to American companies or universities to complete a task for a foreign country. If we donate X dollars to combat some disease in Africa, we're actually sending the money to American companies who make medicine that is shipped overseas.

Cutting foreign aid would hurt American business more than the receiving foreign company. It would also hurt US interests since aid is given out as a way to influence policy.

Cutting foreign aid would hurt American business more than the receiving foreign company. It would also hurt US interests since aid is given out as a way to influence policy.

Sure, like a flu shot, it’s going to hurt, but better to get it now than to regret it in the long term. I think this move should have happened a long time ago, but again, better now than never. The President should do whatever it takes to stop the crisis and sadly, if that means some people are going to get pinched then so be it.

The Council on Foreign Relations gives a different picture, with a third of the aid going "toward helping allies purchase U.S. military equipment, training foreign military personnel, and funding 'peacekeeping' missions".

Which sounds a lot like subsidies to help the US sell more weapons around the world

Another 11% goes to political aid. Which, if Russia does it, we call interference.

I trust my local used car salesman more than I trust the US government. Especially the secret parts of it. These aid packages are mostly causing harm to other people, and accelerating the general decline of the US.

Commanteer: Which sounds a lot like subsidies to help the US sell more weapons around the world

Yep. That aid Israel gets? A vast majority is required to be spent on US weapons and supplies. And they don’t get the money and send it back, the US just sends the money directly to the weapons manufacturers.

Sometimes we send things to countries like humanitarian aid, which is sending rice bought from US farmers, for instance. Some cases there are donations for things like disaster relief, but not much.

Any way you slice it, aid is a tool used to further US global interests and most of it goes to US companies and universities, not a charity.

Bass: Sure, like a flu shot, it’s going to hurt, but better to get it now

There are better avenues to take that don’t hurt the US. The GOP hammers the foreign aid angle because they know their base has the wrong impression of what it does and it makes crowds cheer at rallies. WHY are we giving them all this foreign aid????

We’re not. We are giving it to Americans,

So Trump supporters have no hesitation about hurting American foreign business? 

Democrats have no compunction about open borders, allowing illegals to come in, they allow the homelessness problem to get out of control, they could care less about the country, the people, the border or what comes through it, drugs or illegal aliens.

If that crisis is the illegal attempting to cross the border into the States, then cancelling the aid won't change anything since the illegals and poor are not people who would even benefit them.

No, but if you build a wall and you staff with more border patrol agents and you, and the catch and release, lock them out it would wake the leaders of these countries up, it would push them to take notice and try to ring in the crime, corruption and the drug gangs, it would be a significant help because it hasn’t been done yet.

America and Trump needs to look at what changes and improvements can be made to encourage people to remain in their home countries.

And here we are.

The numbers attempting to enter America have decreased and have been declining for years but Trump used it during his election campaign so it's one of the topics which his voting base like. Trump still called it a National Emergency when it is not.

That is 100% not true.

https://youtu.be/wKcEFLcPPX

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47736603

In El Paso, Texas, officials have over 13,000 migrants in custody this week, he said.

Most of the migrants entering the US are families or unaccompanied children.

"On Monday and Tuesday, CBP started the day with over 12,000 migrants in our custody," Mr McAleenan said at a news conference on Wednesday. 

"As of this morning, that number was 13,400. A high number for us is 4,000. A crisis level is 6,000. 13,000 is unprecedented."

Not only would I call this a crisis, I call it an emergency of the highest level.

I think at this point bass has closed his mind to the counterproductive nature of stopping aid. He just needs someone to do something, even counterproductive.

They have reached lashing out wildly stage.

Should I assume that everyone here is giving at least 10% of their income to charities they support?

If you feel so strongly about helping the people in these locations, travel there, volunteer in local aid organizations AND give that 10% directly. You'll feel better doing it and you can find the local organizations who are truly worth giving towards.

Something needs to be done about illegal immigration to the US. Something.

This is just plain stupid policy reflective of an utterly incompetent administration bent on their own version idiocy signaling to its base.

You address the problem of illegal migration by working to solve the issues of crime and poverty at the source. You don’t cut aid and make it worse. You increase aid and work with these countries. You don’t waste billions on a pointless wall.

Ending the aid will not change

Actually it will, if these countries want our money and they most definitely do....

that but will hurt American business interest. Something about cutting of your nose to spite your face.

Open borders already hurt Americans and our economy.

https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article222896300.html

I think at this point bass has closed his mind to the counterproductive nature of stopping aid.

Not at all, I just have an open and unobstructed mind and viewpoint that the Democrats absolutely only care in theory, but in practicality, they don’t and won’t do anything to seal or deal with our open border crisis, even now with this crisis and we being at the breaking point, they just give us baseless anger No solutions and empty platitudes.

So very sad.

Open borders already hurt Americans and our economy.

https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article222896300.html

North Carolina, the home of this paper, isn't on the border. You complain all the time that you don't care about the opinions who don't live on the border. So why do you care about the opinions of a NC newspaper?

Oh, it's because they wrote a half-baked editorial which happens to agree with you.

Oh, it's because they wrote a half-baked editorial which happens to agree with you.

This is the same guy who says people on the border want the wall, even though every state on the border has said they don't want the wall.

Facts aren't his strong point.

Trump tried for a wall but couldn’t get the funding because he can’t negotiate anything.

Sad.

North Carolina, the home of this paper, isn't on the border. You complain all the time that you don't care about the opinions who don't live on the border. So why do you care about the opinions of a NC newspaper?

I don’t care, doesn’t mean I can’t print it for conversational or debating purposes.

Oh, it's because they wrote a half-baked editorial which happens to agree with you.

Hey, you guys have your half-baked papers as well, enjoy.

Of course, he cut off the aid to these "Mexican countries" (Foxspeak)--so as to create more misery and more immigrants, so he can whine and bi--ch about these "filthy" people, "flooding" our shores. Without a problem, Donald Trump has no platform for his hate. And again, WHY focused so much on these brown people when the problem is VISA overstayers, or is that just too complex for Trumpteers to understand?

Democrats have no compunction about open borders, allowing illegals to come in, they allow the homelessness problem to get out of control, they could care less about the country, the people, the border or what comes through it, drugs or illegal aliens.

Wait, you are constantly mouthing off about how democrats love undocumented immigrants for votes. Where which is it?

Oh, that's correct:

This is the same guy who says people on the border want the wall, even though every state on the border has said they don't want the wall.

Facts aren't his strong point.

Trump tried for a wall but couldn’t get the funding because he can’t negotiate anything.

Makes me wonder, if he can close the border - why does he need a wall?

Can they cut farm subsidies too ? These cause problems for the the economies of thee countries (plus waste taxpayer dollars).

Foreign aid is often a form of corporate welfare.