The White House announced Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris would visit Central America in June and hold virtual talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei next week about the migrant surge at the US border.
On Monday, Harris, who is in charge of President Joe Biden’s effort to address the long-standing issue of unregulated migration across the US-Mexican border, will meet digitally with Giammattei.
“The two will discuss working together to address immediate relief needs of the Guatemalan people as well as deepening cooperation on migration,” the vice president’s spokeswoman Symone Sanders said.
On Tuesday, Harris will participate in a roundtable with Guatemalan community groups via video to explore “solutions to root causes of migration,” according to Sanders.
Harris will also “travel to the area in June,” according to a White House official.
The schedule elevates Harris’ profile on one of the most difficult topics facing the current Biden administration.
Unlike Republican Donald Trump, who has focused on physically preventing would-be immigrants from crossing the border, Biden and Harris have vowed to assist regional governments in addressing the poverty and abuse that drive people to make the perilous journey north in the first place.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
