In Guatemala and Mexico this week, Vice President Kamala Harris is meeting with leaders who might help stem the historic surge of migrants to the southern border, which has been a thorn in the White House’s side as it faces criticism from political foes and Central American officials. But without the very “tangible steps” she described Monday, experts say the flow of migrants heading north won’t be slowed.

The visit is Harris’s first foreign trip as vice president, a sign, she told Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, of the priority that the Biden administration is placing on the region.