{"id":269555,"date":"2021-06-08T22:24:15","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T19:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/vp-kamala-harris-may-visit-border-at-some-point\/"},"modified":"2021-06-08T22:24:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T19:24:15","slug":"vp-kamala-harris-may-visit-border-at-some-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/vp-kamala-harris-may-visit-border-at-some-point\/","title":{"rendered":"#VP Kamala Harris ‘may’ visit border ‘at some point’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#VP Kamala Harris ‘may’ visit border ‘at some point’<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday said Vice President Kamala Harris \u201cmay\u201d visit the US-Mexico border \u2014 after President Biden\u2019s migration czar drew fire for laughing off a reporter\u2019s question about whether she would go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that at some point she may go to the border. We\u2019ll see,\u201d Psaki said at her daily press briefing.<\/p>\n

Later, Psaki added, \u201cif it is constructive and it moves the ball forward for her to visit the border, she certainly may do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris, who is in Mexico on her first trip since Biden tapp<\/a>ed her in March to stem a surge in migration, told NBC news<\/a> anchor Lester Holt in an interview aired on the \u201cToday\u201d show that she didn\u2019t need to visit the border \u2014 laughingly adding that she also hasn\u2019t travel<\/a>ed to Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been to the border. So this whole thing about the border, we\u2019ve been to the border,\u201d Harris said, to which Holt replied, \u201cYou haven\u2019t been to the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"White
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Harris might still make a visit to the border.<\/figcaption>
EPA\/Sarah Silbiger \/ POOL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harris countered, \u201cAnd I haven\u2019t been to Europe. And I mean, I don\u2019t understand the point that you\u2019re making. I\u2019m not discounting the importance of the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reply drew significant Republican criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vice President thinks the border crisis is a hilarious joke,\u201d tweeted <\/a>House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).<\/p>\n

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) tweeted<\/a>, \u201cWell @VP Harris, I have been to the border and it\u2019s nothing to laugh about. Thanks to Biden\/Harris policies, officials are stretched thin and both border communities and migrants are suffering. This is not a joke, it\u2019s a crisis on your watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Harris also dismissed a reporter\u2019s question at a press conference in Guatemala regarding why she hasn\u2019t visited the southern border, saying that such a trip would be a mere \u201cgrand gesture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vice
Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at a news conference with Guatemala\u2019s President Alejandro Giammattei in Guatemala City on June 7, 2021.<\/figcaption>
REUTERS\/Carlos Barria<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harris has faced pressure for months to visit the border, though the White House has taken pains to emphasize that her charge is limited to addressing the \u201croot causes\u201d of migration from the three-country Northern Triangle of Central America, which includes El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The three countries are home to the majority of unaccompanied minors and families surging to the border this year.<\/p>\n

Harris\u2019 trip to the region got off to a difficult start when Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei blamed the Biden administration for the migrant crisis in a Sunday interview, saying US officials sent mixed messages.<\/p>\n

Harris was then greeted at Guatemala\u2019s presidential palace by pro-Donald Trump protesters who brandished signs that said \u201cTrump won\u201d and \u201cGo home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Migrants
Migrants detained by US Customs and Border Protection in San Luis, Arizona, on May 21, 2021.<\/figcaption>
Photo by Nick Ut\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critics attribute the border surge to Biden\u2019s policies, including his decision to end Trump\u2019s \u201cRemain in Mexico\u201d policy that required most asylum-seekers from Central America to remain in Mexico while US courts reviewed their claims of persecution.<\/p>\n

Biden also ended construction of Trump\u2019s US-Mexico border wall and urged Congress to pass legislation that would establish a path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants. Republicans said the legislation and Biden\u2019s policy changes created new \u201cpull\u201d factors for illegal immigration.<\/p>\n

The number of US-Mexico border detentions soared to\u00a0a 21-year monthly high\u00a0of more than 178,000 in April, the\u00a0most\u00a0recent\u00a0month\u00a0for which statistics are available.\n <\/p><\/div>\n