WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris defended her decision not to visit the U.S.-Mexico border despite the humanitarian crisis in an interview that aired Tuesday, saying her focus on the root causes of migration is the key to stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants.
“We have to understand that there’s a reason people are arriving at our border and ask what is that reason and then identify the problems so we can fix it,” Harris said in an excerpt of an interview with “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt during her trip to Guatemala that aired on the “Today” show.
Harris noted “there’s not going to be a quick fix” to the border situation, and the U.S. won’t “see an immediate return” as a result of actions taken by the administration.
Watch Vice President Kamala Harris’ full interview on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
“The real work is going to take time to manifest itself,” Harris said. “Will it be worth it? Yes. Will it take some time? Yes.”
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Harris said “at some point” she would visit the southwest border, although she did not specify a time. In late March, President Joe Biden tasked Harris with leading efforts to stem migration into the U.S. from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Republicans have criticized Harris for not visiting the border during the crisis, a point Holt raised in the interview, noting that Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, had urged Biden and Harris to make the trip.
While neither the president nor the vice president have gone to the southwest border, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, senior domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and other administration officials have paid visits to border facilities and refugee shelters there.
“Listen, I care about what’s happening on the border,” Harris told Holt. “I’m in Guatemala because my focus is dealing with the root causes of migration. There may be some who think that that is not important, but it is my firm belief that if we care about what’s happening at the border, we better care about the root causes and address that.”
During her trip to Guatemala on Monday, Harris outlined a number of new steps to address those root causes, including coordination among the Treasury, State and Justice departments to train local law enforcement personnel and support Guatemalan prosecutors in anti-corruption efforts. She also delivered a message to people contemplating the trek across the border into the U.S.
“Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border,” said Harris, who arrived in Mexico Tuesday for the next leg of her foreign trip.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
