Secure the Northern Triangle Act
A BILL
To provide a coordinated regional response to effectively manage the endemic violence and humanitarian crisis in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
Since 2006, incidents of murder, other violent crime, and corruption perpetrated by armed criminal gangs and illicit trafficking organizations have risen alarmingly in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras (referred to in this Act as the “Northern Triangle”).
In 2013, Honduras had the highest per capita homicide rate of any nation in the world, with 90.4 murders for every 100,000 people in the country. El Salvador and Guatemala were in the top 5 countries with the highest per capita homicide rates.
Since 2013, El Salvador’s murder rate rose sharply to become the highest of any country in the world in 2015 at 108.5 homicides for every 100,000 people, following a dramatic escalation of violence between the country’s 2 largest armed criminal gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (commonly known as “MS–13”) and Barrio 18.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the per capita homicide rate for children in El Salvador and Guatemala is higher than any other country in the world. In 2014, 27 out of every 100,000 children were murdered in El Salvador.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Honduras and El Salvador have the highest per capita female homicide rates in the world. In 2014, 90 out of every 100,000 females were murdered in Honduras.
In April 2016, UNHCR’s spokesperson stated, “The number of people fleeing violence in Central America has surged to levels not seen since the region was wracked by armed conflicts in the 1980s. Action is urgently needed to ensure that unaccompanied children and others receive the protection to which they are entitled.”.
Since 2013, individuals fleeing the Northern Triangle have sought sanctuary in neighboring countries and there has recently been a 1,185 percent increase in the number of asylum applications from citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to the Governments of Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Belize.
Unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle now make up the majority of unaccompanied minors encountered at the international border between the United States and Mexico, with the fastest increase occurring among children younger than 12 years of age.
Human smugglers are increasingly responsible for the transit of migrants from the Northern Triangle to the United States. According to the Government Accountability Office, human smugglers frequently use aggressive and misleading marketing to recruit migrants.
Many female migrants face rape and sexual violence during the journey, either from smugglers or others encountered on the route, or risk being trafficked for sex or labor.
Challenges to the rule of law in the Northern Triangle have been exacerbated by the limited ability and lack of political will on the part of governments to investigate and prosecute those responsible for murder. In 2014, approximately 95 percent of murders remained unresolved in Honduras and El Salvador.
The presence of major drug trafficking organizations in the Northern Triangle contributes to violence, corruption, and criminality. The 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report prepared by the Department of State estimated that “approximately 90 percent of the cocaine trafficked to the United States in the first half of 2015 first transited through the Mexico/Central America corridor”.
Widespread public sector corruption in the Northern Triangle undermines economic and social development and directly affects regional political stability, as demonstrated by the indictment and resignation of former Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina on corruption charges.
Human rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists, social leaders, and LGBT activists in the Northern Triangle face dire conditions, as evidenced by the March 2016 murder of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres and the targeted killing of more than 200 such civil society leaders since 2006. Almost none of these cases have resulted in convictions.
The Northern Triangle struggles with high levels of economic insecurity. In 2014, more than 62 percent of Hondurans, more than 59 percent of Guatemalans, and more than 31 percent of Salvadorans lived below the poverty line.
Weak investment climates and low levels of educational opportunity are barriers to inclusive economic growth and social development in the Northern Triangle.
Although the CAM Program has approval rates of nearly 98 percent, due to limited resources, of the 8,920 children that have applied for humanitarian protection, only 626 have been conditionally approved and only 368 have entered the United States.
Approximately 50 percent of unaccompanied minors facing United States immigration proceedings receive legal representation. Children with legal counsel appeared at their hearings more than 95 percent of the time.
As of May 2016, 492,978 cases were pending before immigration courts, with such cases taking an average of 553 days to reach a final decision.
Sec. 3 Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
the United States must address the violence and humanitarian crisis resulting in the elevated numbers of unaccompanied children, women, and refugees from the Northern Triangle arriving at the Southwestern border of the United States;
the violence and humanitarian crisis has been prompted by the severe challenges posed by—
high rates of homicide, sexual violence, and violent crime perpetrated by armed criminal actors;
endemic corruption; and
the limited ability and the lack of political will on the part of governments to protect their citizens and uphold the rule of law in the Northern Triangle;
the United States must work with international partners—
to address the complicated conditions in the Northern Triangle that contribute to the violence and humanitarian crisis; and
to protect vulnerable populations, particularly women and children, fleeing violence in the region;
the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle, which was developed by the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, with the technical assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank, represents a comprehensive approach to address the complex situation in the Northern Triangle;
the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America, as articulated by President Obama and Vice President Biden, provides important support for the Alliance for Prosperity and other United States national security priorities, including rule of law and anti-corruption initiatives;
combating corruption in the Northern Triangle must remain a critical priority and the United Nation’s Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Organization of American States’ Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) are important contributions to this effort;
the United States must continue to encourage the creation of a similar international commission to combat corruption and impunity in El Salvador;
the governments of the Northern Triangle are urged to ensure that the Office of the Attorney General in each such country receives sufficient domestic budget allocations to carry out their core responsibilities and that budgeted funds are delivered in a timely manner;
the United States should work in cooperation with the Government of Mexico in encouraging best practices consistent with international law and obligations regarding the protection of vulnerable populations such as women and children;
the CAM Program provides a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to children fleeing violence in the Northern Triangle;
the United States must—
expand the CAM Program to ensure the safe and orderly processing of refugee children in the region;
strengthen internal asylum systems in Mexico and other countries in the region to protect and process eligible children and families, including establishing and expanding in-country reception centers;
expand access to legal representation for unaccompanied alien children facing United States immigration proceedings; and
reduce delays in immigration courts, which contribute to misinformation that migrants who come to the United States will not be removed; and
it is imperative for the United States to sustain a long-term commitment to addressing the factors causing Central Americans to flee their countries by strengthening citizen security, the rule of law, democratic governance, the protection of human rights, and inclusive economic growth in the Northern Triangle.
Sec. 4 Definitions
In this Act:
CAM Program— The term CAM Program means the Central American Minors Refugee/Parole Program administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Intelligence community— The term intelligence community has the meaning given the term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
Northern triangle— The term Northern Triangle means El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Placement— The term placement means the placement of an unaccompanied alien child with a sponsor.
Plan— The term Plan means the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle.
Sponsor— The term sponsor means a sponsor referred to in section 462(b)(4) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)(4)).
Unaccompanied alien child— The term unaccompanied alien child has the meaning given the term in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)).