Since being assigned the task of addressing the “root cause” of mass migration to the southern border, Vice President Kamala Harris has spent just three days in Central America during two short trips.
During his almost two years in office, Mr. Harris made two short trips to Latin America. Since her last visit in June, annual encounters at the border hit a US all-time high of 2.1 million in August, and if this trend continues at the same pace, total encounters will reach 2022. but she will exceed 3 million.
Harris waited six months to visit the southern border for the first time as vice president and has yet to return. “The border is safe,” she declared in an interview last month.
Mallorcas warned hours before press conference that Haitian migrants were not ‘flogged’
With little time to investigate the cause on his own, Harris spoke about the problem in the United States and announced a new initiative.
For the first time since 1994, the Americas Summit, where Latin American countries meet to discuss diplomacy, was held in the United States this year. The conference featured a speech by Harris, who criticized the region’s rampant corruption and declared Biden. The administration is “on track” to address the root causes of the border crisis.
Harris at the summit touted more than $3 billion in private sector commitments to Latin America since President Biden took office. But the administration has failed to get Congress through his $4 billion relief package for Central America, which aims to reduce immigration from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
During his two visits, Mr. Harris met with three leaders of Latin American countries. President of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, where three of the top four migrants fleeing to the U.S. border live. However, all three leaders boycotted the summit after the State Department announced it would not invite the undemocratically elected leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
CBP Finds ‘No Evidence’ Border Patrol Whipped Haitian Migrant
First Lady Jill Biden took a six-day trip to Central America in May. This is twice as long as Harris spent in the area. The First Lady focused on building alliances with countries in the region.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Vice President Mike Pence also visited Central America for six days in 2017.
The vice president’s office did not respond to a request for comment.