Kamala Harris: I will visit the US-Mexico border 1:29
(CNN) - US
Vice President Kamala Harris responded to criticism that she has not visited the US-Mexico border in an interview aired Tuesday, arguing that her travels have been limited during the early days of Joe's administration. Biden - In an interview that took place in Guatemala during Harris' first overseas trip since taking office, Lester Holt of NBC asked Harris if he had plans to visit the southern border of the United States.
"At some point, you know, we're going to go to the border," Harris said.
“We have been to the border.
So all this, all this, this whole border thing.
We have been to the border.
We have been to the border.
Holt replied, "You haven't been to the border."
'I, and I have not been to Europe.
And I mean, no… I don't understand the point you're making, ”Harris said with a laugh.
And he added: "I do not discount the importance of the border."
When asked by CNN later Tuesday if he can commit to visiting the US-Mexico border and if he will soon, Harris responded, "Yes, I will," adding that "he had spent a lot of time at the border, both of us going there physically and aware of the problems.
But, he continued, he said that he believes the country needs to "prioritize what is happening at the border, and we have to prioritize why people go to the border."
"I think it is shortsighted ... to suggest that we will only respond to the reaction rather than address the cause," he said.
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President Biden has tasked Harris with leading efforts to curb the flow of migration from Central America, and has tried to clarify that managing the southern border is not part of that task.
His comments come at a time when Republican critics have tried to make Harris the face of the Biden administration's response at the border, where he crossed a record number of unaccompanied minors into the United States this spring.
Biden: Situation of migrant minors is under control 1:08
“I care about this and I care about what is happening at the border.
I am in Guatemala because my focus is treating the root causes of migration, ”said Harris.
"There may be some who think that this is not important, but I have the firm conviction that if we care about what is happening at the border, we better worry about the root causes and address them."
Republicans criticized Harris for his answer, pointing to his laughter in answering the question as disrespectful.
“Many Americans who live in border communities are afraid to leave their homes.
Smugglers are abandoning children as young as 5 years old at the border.
Fentanyl seizures are increasing across the country, "said Tommy Pigott, director of rapid response for the Republican National Committee, in a press release.
"Yet Biden and Harris continue to fail the American people."
Harris faces the first major diplomatic test of his vice presidency, and his trip to Guatemala and Mexico underscores the greater interest of the Biden administration in Central America and migration from the region.
Kamala Harris talks about migration with the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel Obrador
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that she hopes Harris will travel to the border "at some point," but said the vice president is currently focused on addressing the root causes of migration in Central America.
“His focus has been, what the assignment is specifically, is to work with the leaders in the Northern Triangle.
She is on a trip doing exactly that, exactly what the President asked her to do, ”said Psaki.
Psaki added: “Your goal on this trip is to meet with leaders, to have a discussion about how to tackle corruption, how to tackle root causes, how to work together to address humanitarian challenges in these countries.
That is exactly what he is doing on the ground and I am sure he will report to the president upon his return.
The vice president met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday and flew to Mexico on Tuesday to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
AMLO: The central theme with Kamala Harris is migration 1:38
During his meeting with López Obrador, Harris said Tuesday that he believed the US and Mexico were "embarking on a new era" and highlighted the long relationship between the two border nations.
The vice president is expected to focus on economic development, climate and food insecurity and women and youth during her trip to the region, according to her staff.
In Guatemala, the vice president met with Guatemalan community leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs and greeted and thanked the staff of the United States embassy.
In Mexico, Harris will participate in a conversation with businesswomen, hold a panel discussion with workers, and greet staff from the United States mission in Mexico.
OPINION |
What Vice President Kamala Harris is looking for in Mexico, and what will she find
Biden tasked Harris with this politically tense assignment in March, and an official previously told CNN that Harris is "really picking up" what Biden left off, after then-President Barack Obama tasked him with leading diplomatic efforts in Guatemala, Honduras. and El Salvador in his last term, after a wave of unaccompanied minors from those countries that arrived in the United States.
The vice president and her team have made it clear that they want to focus exclusively on diplomatic efforts in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, where they believe they are more likely to achieve tangible results in addressing the causes. fundamentals of migration, such as economic precariousness, according to two White House officials familiar with the dynamics.
Border with Mexico Kamala Harris
