Harris meets with foundation heads on root causes of migration

Vice President Harris met Thursday with leaders of philanthropic groups focused on aiding the Northern Triangle, the latest roundtable she has held in her role leading efforts to stem the flow of migrants from Central America.

“I’ve asked the leaders of major philanthropic organizations — not only nationally but globally — I’ve asked you to come together so I can learn from you, so I can hear from you,” Harris said.

“Many of you have been investing for years, like I said, in the region. I want to hear from you to know what works, what has worked, what has not worked. So that will help inform our strategy going forward,” she added.

Leaders of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Open Society Foundations, the Foundation for a Just Society, the Seattle International Foundation and the Ford Foundation attended the event in her ceremonial office. Harris indicated the administration would meet with private-sector leaders to discuss root causes of migration as well.

“I don’t need to tell this group of experts that this is an issue that has been a long-standing issue, it is complex,” Harris said. “If it were easy, it would have been solved a long time ago.”

The meeting with foundation leaders is the latest step Harris has taken since the White House announced earlier this year that she would be leading the administration’s efforts to stem the tide of migrants surging toward the U.S.-Mexico border.

Harris held a virtual roundtable last week with experts on the Northern Triangle, which includes Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. She will meet Monday with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, followed by a virtual roundtable Tuesday with representatives from Guatemalan community-based organizations.

Harris is also expected to travel to the Northern Triangle region in June.