Central American leaders offer support for partnership on immigration

WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- A group of former Central American presidents met with House Speaker Paul Ryan's staff to brief them on the dynamics of the region and to offer support for the Alliance for Prosperity.

The alliance is a U.S. government initiative in partnership with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to address the root causes of the flow of illegal immigrants. Congress has approved $750 million to support the plan.

"The Alliance for Prosperity is an opportunity for us," said former Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo. "We must take advantage of this change in U.S. policy."

The group offered a non-governmental channel of information to aid the implementation of the plan. They also met with Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus on Central America, newly formed in the wake of the Alliance launch.

The bipartisan caucus has 32 members.

The presidents are part of the Latin American Presidential Mission, a civic organization of democratically elected former presidents. It was launched in 2012 with support from the Global Peace Foundation.