White House to meet with Central American presidents

President Obama and Vice President Biden will meet with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador on July 25, the White House announced on Friday. 

Obama and Biden will meet with President Otto Pérez Molina of Guatemala, President Salvador Sánchez Cerén of El Salvador and President Juan Hernández of Honduras, to discuss the recent surge of migrants across the U.S. border. 

{mosads}In the meeting, the leaders will discuss how the governments are “cooperating to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration” between the countries “in a spirit of shared responsibility” including “with respect to the return of family units,” a process which began this week for the three Central American countries, according to the White House.  

The meeting is also expected to include discussions on how the countries can work together to bolster economic growth and development along with security in the central American region as well as address the “factors” that are causing the migrants to attempt to cross the border.  

Biden is also expected to host the three leaders for lunch to continue the discussions he began last month during a visit to Guatemala City. 

Approximately 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border since October. 

The White House recently asked Congress to approve a $3.7 billion emergency supplemental to help fix the problem. Some of that money would go toward hiring additional immigration lawyers and operational costs responding to the significant rise in apprehensions of migrants.