After remarks promising hope to Central Americans, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking in Guatemala, said people should not attempt to migrate illegally to the United States because they will be returned home.
“If you come to our border, you will be turned back,” Harris told reporters during a press conference with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei in Guatemala City, where the vice president held her first in-country talks on the issues the White House says prompt migrants to leave.
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“I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come,” the vice president said. “The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.”
She added: “So let’s discourage our friends or neighbors or family members from embarking on what is otherwise an extremely dangerous journey … where in large part, the only people who benefit are coyotes.”
Harris’s chief spokesperson, Symone Sanders, told reporters that climate and the economy were among the “main drivers” of the migration increase. In April, 178,622 migrants were apprehended, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
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Harris, who was tapped by President Joe Biden to lead an effort to address the root causes of the migrant surge, has faced criticism for failing to visit the southern border, where migrants have been apprehended in increasing numbers.
Asked about this, Harris said on Monday she is focused on “tangible steps” to address the causes of migration from the region, adding: “I will be focused on that kind of work as opposed to grand gestures.”
