Vice President Kamala Harris and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have set a date to talk about the surge at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Julie Chung, who serves as acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said the May 7 virtual conference between Harris and Lopez Obrador will “deepen the U.S.-Mexico partnership to achieve the common goals of prosperity, good governance and addressing the root causes of migration.”
.@VP and @lopezobrador_ will meet virtually on May 7th to deepen the U.S.-Mexico partnership to achieve the common goals of prosperity, good governance and addressing the root causes of migration. pic.twitter.com/MVN03rUvte
— Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) April 24, 2021
Harris previously announced that she would travel to the Northern Triangle in Central America, including stops in Mexico and Guatemala, to discuss the root causes of the migrant surge, but specific details were not released at that time. Chung’s tweet did not clarify when Harris would travel in person.
KAMALA HARRIS SAYS SHE WILL TRAVEL TO MEXICO AND GUATEMALA AMID MIGRANT SURGE
The vice president was given a lead role managing the surge of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border by President Joe Biden, who said in March that he can think of “nobody who is better qualified” than Harris to handle the situation.
The United States is contending with a large number of migrants, particularly unaccompanied minors, crossing the southern border. More than 100,000 migrants were encountered at the border in February, according to authorities, and reports indicate that an unprecedented 117,000 migrant children will enter the U.S. by the end of 2021. The most recent border surge saw the arrival of 80,000 unaccompanied minors at the southern border in 2019.
Despite initial reluctance, Biden referred to the surge as a “crisis” when explaining his decision to lift the cap on the number of refugees who can resettle in the U.S.
“We’re going to increase the number. The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people,” the president said last weekend. “We couldn’t do two things at once, but now, we are going to increase the number.”
The White House has since walked back this statement, with press secretary Jen Psaki saying Biden didn’t view minors crossing the border as a crisis.
“The president does not feel children coming to our border, seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships, and other dire circumstances, is a crisis,” she said on Monday when asked about his comments.
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Administration officials have largely preferred to call the surge a “challenge” rather than a “crisis.”
Biden has indicated that he plans to visit the border, but specific travel plans have not been announced.
