Vice President Mike Pence urged would-be migrants in Central America to avoid the dangerous journey to cross illegally into the U.S., as part of remarks to Central American leaders at a conference in Washington.

Pence pledged support to address issues of corruption and violence that have plagued Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The Trump administration recommended dramatic cuts to foreign aid for Central America in its budget proposals to congress in 2017 and 2018.

Attendees of the two-day Conference for Prosperity and Security in Central America included President Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras, President Jimmy Morales of Guatemala, Vice President Óscar Ortiz of El Salvador, and Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray, according to the State Department.

It’s in U.S. interest to work with Mexico to address migration from Central America, said Christopher Wilson, deputy director of the Mexico Institute, a Washington D.C.-based non-partisan think tank.
 
"Without Mexico's help, there would be hundreds of thousands of additional immigrants showing up at the U.S. doorstep every year,” Wilson said in an interview. “No matter what you feel the U.S. policy should be, it's a huge challenge to manage that large of a flow."