Kamala Harris’ first international trip as vice president to Guatemala to discuss the “root causes” of illegal immigration and the crisis on our southern border was no cause for congeniality and was not without its blunders.
The vice president may have had the American press like putty in the palms of her hands after passing out cookies of her face to the traveling pool on Air Force One, but the warm reception stopped there.
Before Harris’ arrival, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei pointed to Biden policies which are directly connected to the boundary crisis. He criticized the Biden government’s family reunification policy since it enables human trafficking.
“The message changed to we’re going to reunite families and we’re going to reunite children. The very next day the coyotes were here organizing groups of children to take them to the United States,” Giammattei told CBS News.
Protestors greeted Harris and her staff with signs that said,”Trump won”,”Kamala, Mind Your Own Business” and”Kamala, Go Home”. Another sign said, “Kamala Stop Funding Criminals #FueraDeGuatemala.”
Kamala Harris visited Guatemala and was greeted by angry Guatemalans holding 'Trump Won' and 'Go Home' signs pic.twitter.com/PBj1EsrY7B
— djcalligraphy ™ (@DJcalligraphy) June 7, 2021
Harris held a joint press conference with President Giammettei to address the “root causes” of the illegal immigration crisis. He was compelled to fend off questions about his nation’s own corruption while Harris changed her tune on illegal immigration, telling illegal migrants to not come to the U.S.
“I want to emphasize that the goal of our work is to help Guatemalans find hope at home, at the same time I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making the dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border — do not come, do not come,” she said.
“The reason I am here in Guatemala as my first trip as vice president in the United States is because this is one of our highest priorities, and I came here to be here on the ground to speak with the leader of this nation around what we can do in a way that is significant, is tangible and has real results. And I will continue to be focused on that kind of work as opposed to grand gestures,” Harris continued.
Guatemalan President reminds fully-vaccinated VP Harris to wear a mask after joint press conference pic.twitter.com/o6hok18SGI
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 7, 2021
A CBS reporter then asked Harris if it was reasonable to comprehend the Biden government’s work on stopping illegal immigration as a failure because migrants are desperate and continue coming.
The vice president dodged the question, focusing rather on addressing corruption and fostering Central American markets.
After the press conference, Giammettei controlled Harris to wear her face mask as they departed from their lecterns regardless of the fact that she’s fully vaccinated. She willingly obliged.
Harris’ trip to Guatemala was met with criticism from the Republican party and its leaders who viewed the visit as a way to dodge the pressing crisis at the southern border.
In addition to Biden’s family reunification policy, critics shredded him for ending the Trump administration’s”stay in Mexico” policy which demanded many asylum-seekers from Central America to stay in Mexico while US courts review their situation, for finishing the boundary wall structure, and urging Congress to pass a pathway to citizenship for many illegal aliens.
The government’s soft approach has not suppressed migrants, as border detentions jumped into a 21-month high in April of over 178,000.
