Vice President Kamala Harris met with the leaders of a dozen major companies and organizations Thursday as part of her continued work to address the root causes of migration from Central America, calling on them to support “inclusive economic development” in the region.

What You Need To Know

  • Vice President Kamala Harris met with business and nonprofit leaders in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, calling for their commitment to aid economic development in Central America

  • The call is part of her ongoing work to address the root causes of migration in the region and try to stem future increases along the U.S.-Mexico border

  • Mastercard, for example, has promised to give five million people banking services, and Microsoft has agreed to bring internet access to three million people in Central America by July 2022

  • Harris said Thursday that her plan is about giving people hope if they stay in their home country, many of whom are facing extreme poverty, food insecurity and violence

The Thursday meeting included the heads of Accion, Bancocolombia, Chobani, Davivienda, Duolingo, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Mastercard, Microsoft, Nespresso, Pro Mujer, the Tent Partnership for Refugees, and the World Economic Forum.

Harris called on the companies to invest in initiatives like affordable internet access, banking, small businesses, agriculture, clean energy, job training and public health access.

Mastercard, for example, has promised to give five million people banking services, and Microsoft has agreed to bring internet access to three million people in Central America by July 2022.

"[One] principle with which we are approaching this initiative is the real belief that we have the capacity to give people hope, and hope, in particular, in this case, that if they stay, that help is on the way," Harris said Thursday.

The engagement with private businesses is part of the vice president’s work to address the root causes of migration in Central America, in part to try and stem increases that often overwhelm the U.S.-Mexico border and asylum system.

In recent months, border officials have encountered more people at the southwest border than in the last 20 years, including more than 178,000 people in April, though most are being turned away under a public health restriction.

Advocates have pushed for the U.S. government to lift that order, calling it inhumane and likely illegal to turn away people seeking humanitarian protections. In the meantime, the Biden administration has decided to admit unaccompanied children, many families with young kids and a handful of vulnerable asylum seekers.

While Vice President Harris has not committed to visiting the border herself, she has a trip planned to Guatemala and Mexico from June 7-8, when she’ll meet with the leaders of both countries.

Thursday’s “Call to Action” for private companies is one piece of the effort to address the main drivers of migration toward the United States: extreme poverty, food insecurity, violence, corruption and climate change, including two hurricanes that hit Honduras last year.

"When we combine resources, limited though they are for each one of us, we can maximize the potential to give people in that region hope," the vide president said. "We know that we are interconnected and, in many ways, interdependent when it comes to many issues."

Harris has said her work with businesses and nonprofits in the region will also have a special focus on vulnerable populations, including women and young people.