Biden Official and Surveyed Americans Blame Central American ‘Elites’ and Governments for Border Crisis

Latin American “predatory elites” who stand to benefit from the status quo share the blame of the U.S. border crisis with Central American governments and migrants, a top Biden aide and unassociated poll recently asserted.

While the Biden administration believes “predatory elites” in the source countries of the migrant surge are the culprits behind the border crisis, a non-governmental poll recently showed that many Americans also blame Central American governments, migrants, the U.S. president, and Congress.

The Yahoo News/YouGov poll results unveiled Monday show that Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to blame the migrants’ country of origin for most of the issues at the U.S. border.

In blaming the “predatory elites,” Juan Gonzalez, the White House National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere and a special assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden, appeared to be trying to deflect any of the blame for the border placed on the commander-in-chief by members of both parties.

Last Friday, the National Public Radio (NPR) reported:

Many migrants who come to the U.S. border from Central America are doing so because of “a predatory elite” who are tied to a host of problems in their home countries — not because of President Biden’s easing of Trump-era immigration policies, according to Juan Gonzalez, a top aide to Biden on immigration.

“You have, frankly, a predatory elite that benefits from the status quo, which is to not pay any taxes or invest in social programs,” Gonzalez explained.

“Migration is essentially a social release valve for migrants,” he noted, adding that remittances from their earnings in the U.S. drive more consumption in their country of origin, benefiting powerful elites there.

Unaccompanied children, family units, and other migrants from the Northern Triangle, a region that encompasses El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, make up the bulk of the migrant surge.

This month, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele conceded that his country’s inability to provide security and economic opportunities drives migrants he wants to keep inside his country to the U.S. border.

He stressed that the exodus of migrants to the U.S. border is bad for America and even worse for the Latin American countries they are leaving behind.

According to the results of a Yahoo News/YouGov poll, nearly two-thirds of respondents said Central American leaders bear either most of the blame (29 percent) or some of it (35 percent).

Together (64 percent) and on their own, Democrats (33 percent) and independents (31 percent) blame Central American leaders for most of the problems at the southern border more than Republicans (25 percent).

However, Republicans who said Central American governments bear some of the blame exceeded Democrats and independents.

Six out of ten Americans believe the U.S. Congress either bears most of the blame (24 percent) or some of the blame (36 percent), the poll found.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump supporters, and independents are more likely to blame Congress for most of the border problems than Democrats.

A slim majority of respondents blamed the migrants for the border crisis, with 52 percent saying they either bear most (24 percent) or some (28 percent) of the blame.

Republicans are more likely to blame the migrants than Democrats and independents.

The poll surveyed 1,556 U.S. adults between March 23 and 25, finding that 62 percent of respondents believe there is indeed a border “crisis,” a phrase the Biden administration has bent over backward to avoid, calling it a border “challenge” instead.

Just under half (45 percent) of respondents said they believe the border’s situation has worsened under Biden. Only 19 percent said it has improved, while 36 percent told pollsters they are unsure.

Republicans and independents are less likely to say the situation has gotten better when compared to Democrats.