Vice President Harris Pledges to Visit Southern US Border After Criticism | Abroad

Republicans criticized Harris for visiting the interior of Mexico and Guatemala on her first international visit as vice president, rather than visiting the border region. Harris did not explain when she last visited the border and when her next visit will be.

US President Joe Biden has asked Harris to fight illegal immigration to the southern border of the United States. The vice president says his main focus is on tackling the root causes of immigration.

Several Republicans have called on the vice president to travel to the border on her first international trip to see the situation there for herself. Illegal migration on the southern border of the United States recently reached its highest level in 20 years and urgent help is needed.

The vice-president defended her choice to go inland, saying she wanted to get to the root of migration problems. “You can’t say you care about the border if you don’t care about the root causes,” Harris said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also pointed out on Tuesday that Harris’s job was to target Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. “His job was to work with these countries and their leaders to tackle root causes, fight corruption, and of course we are working together to address humanitarian concerns,” Psaki told the White House. “We don’t take the advice of former President Trump or most of the Republicans who criticize us for this.”