Tegucigalpa, June 11 (teleSUR-RHC)-- El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras hope to convince Washington to back a $20-billion plan to halt massive migration to the United States, according to a document revealed exclusively by Reuters.

Due to widespread poverty and violence in the three countries, particularly Honduras – which has the highest homicide rate in the region – the flow of people risking their lives across a perilous journey has increased recently.

The foreign ministers of the Northern Triangle -- Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras -- are scheduled to visit Washington next week to lobby for the support of U.S. senators to their project “Alliance for Prosperity.”

The Central American diplomatic officials will also seek to avoid that the U.S. Congress reduces President Barack Obama's initial $3-billion request for the region, funds to boost the economies through employment and infrastructure.

Washington lawmakers are apparently reducing the funding to only $1 billion. The three countries had already handed their proposal to Obama in April during the Summit of the Americas in Panama. “I'll be honest, I fear that they are only going to authorized the funds for security and they will say the rest is unnecessary. And that is a recipe for failure,” said Roberta Jacobson, deputy secretary of State for Latin America, who has recently been named U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.

Her statements come at a time when Obama’s immigration order aimed at helping millions of undocumented people in the U.S. has received various blows.