One day after Kamala Harris said she would avoid “grand gestures” by visiting the U.S.-Mexico border, the vice president vowed to do just that as pressure mounted.
“Look, I’ve been to the border, and I will go again,” Harris told reporters in Mexico City, where she had met with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico and other regional leaders to discuss efforts to curb the number of people leaving their home countries to migrate illegally to the United States.
“But when I’m in Guatemala, I think we should be having a conversation about what’s going on in Guatemala,” Harris said, with an apparent agitated laugh, on Tuesday when asked about the border question hanging over her trip to the region, her first foreign journey as vice president.
Harris had dismissed the prospect of a border visit during a press conference in Guatemala City just one day earlier, where she met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and announced new measures to target corruption and trafficking.
Telling reporters that she would remain focused on the so-called root causes of migration from the region “as opposed to grand gestures,” Harris waved off “Republicans’ political attacks or criticism or even concerns” about her lack of a border visit.
The vice president dismissed the prospect again in a video clip from an NBC News interview set to air Tuesday evening, drawing rebuke from political opponents who argue that the U.S. impact is equally worthy of attention.
Asked why she hadn’t yet visited states along the border under the brunt of record migrant arrivals, Harris appeared to grow frustrated.
“And I haven’t been to Europe,” she retorted. “I don’t understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border.”
But within hours of the NBC clip circulating, the White House alluded to the possibility of a border visit by Harris, with press secretary Jen Psaki twice telling reporters that “at some point, she may go to the border.”
Harris and White House officials have sought to distance her diplomatic role from the immediate crisis, as the number of people apprehended crossing illegally continues to climb, and spiking numbers, according to Customs and Border Protection data, since the Biden administration took office.
Instead, the vice president has touted her work with foreign leaders, local organizations and global corporations to spur development, drive down corruption, and better regional security, a task the White House said is reminiscent of President Joe Biden’s role while vice president in the Obama administration.
“The reason I am here in Guatemala, as my first trip as vice president of 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,” Harris said Monday. “And I will continue to be focused on that kind of work, as opposed to grand gestures.”
Speaking to reporters in Mexico City, Harris insisted that she was not dismissing the issue.
“We have, and it is a legitimate correct conversation and concern, which is to address what is happening at our America’s southern border, and no question about that,” the vice president said.
Still, she added, “We cannot have that question and have that conversation without also giving equal weight and attention to what is causing that to occur.”
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The vice president also earlier delivered a blunt message from Guatemala that the U.S. border would be enforced, telling people in the region thinking about migrating illegally “not to come.”
