Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed Wednesday her plans to tour Guatemala and Mexico in the coming days. The top Biden official did not say whether she will visit the US-Mexico border as the immigration crisis spirals out of control.
“The president has asked Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas to address what is going on the border and he has been working very hard on that and is showing some progress because of his hard work,” she said at a Northern Triangle security discussion.
“I have been asked to lead the issue of dealing with root causes in the Northern Triangle, similar to what the then-Vice President did many years ago,” she said. “But I will tell you these are issues that aren’t going to be addressed overnight.”
“We have plans in the works to go to Guatemala as soon as possible,” added the Vice President.
Harris was appointed by Joe Biden to oversee the administration’s handling of the border crisis more than three weeks ago but has so-far failed to deliver any major address on the issue.
“Her assigned efforts on immigration, which includes overseeing diplomatic efforts with Northern Triangle countries, fit into a broader trend of the administration delegating substantial foreign policy responsibilities to her. For example, she has held calls with major world leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu,” reports Fox News.
“Since the beginning of the administration and a week after Biden’s announcement, Harris has fielded questions from the media but has yet to hold a formal press conference. Meanwhile, the border crisis captivated the nation’s attention and raised a series of concerns about national security and the stability of the U.S. immigration system as a whole,” adds Fox.
“So this new surge we’re dealing with now started with the last administration, but it’s our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to – and to stop what’s happening,” Biden said last Wednesday.
“And so, this increase has been consequential, but the vice president has agreed – among the multiple other things that I have her leading – and I appreciate it – agreed to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept re- – the returnees, and enhance migration enforcement at their borders – at their borders.”
Read the full report here.
ANOTHER CARAVAN: Footage Shows New Group of Migrants Departing Honduras for the USA
Footage surfaced on social media Wednesday of another group of migrants departing Central America towards the United States as the crisis along the southern border continues to spiral out of control.
“Caravan of hundreds of migrants from Honduras start their journey to the United States,” posted The Hill on Twitter.
Caravan of hundreds of migrants from Honduras start their journey to the United States pic.twitter.com/Dd0eotvmr6
— The Hill (@thehill) March 31, 2021
From Fox News:
A rancher from New Mexico told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that migrants have been getting “fairly close” to her house, even asking for food and water, amid the surge in illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border.
Amanda Adame noted that she gives them food and water because they “don’t want to get hurt.” She added that she typically calls Border Patrol when she sees migrants on her property.
Adame also pointed out a difference between the behavior of the migrants under the Biden administration and the Trump administration.
“When they [migrants] saw a border agent before, they stopped and they waited and now they keep trying to go,” Adame said, noting that Border Patrol agents “catch them when they see them,” but said the “big problem” is the migrants aren’t always found.
Biden has scrapped a number of Trump’s policies, which included having asylum seekers remain in Mexico instead of staying in the U.S. while they wait for their cases to be heard.
More than 15,000 unaccompanied migrant minors are in custody at federal facilities, according to recent reports. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported encounters with more than 100,000 migrants (minors and otherwise) in February alone.
When asked what her biggest concern is Adame said, “Now that the border policy has changed, what’s going to happen now?”
“What is he [President Biden] going to do with stopping asylum seekers?” she went on to ask. “I just feel sad for the people who are trying to come in legally and they can’t because of all these asylum seekers.”
Adame made the comments one day after White House officials said Vice President Kamala Harris will play a “diplomatic” role in addressing the migrants surge.
Read the full report at Fox News.
BIDEN BRIEFING: GOP Must ‘Decide in Which They Want to Proceed is to Just Decide to Divide’
President Biden held his first solo press briefing from the White House Thursday after 64 days in office; answering questions pertaining to immigration, the Coronavirus pandemic, and working with Republicans.
“I think my Republican colleagues are going to have to determine whether or not we want to work together or they decide in which they want to proceed is to, uh, just uh, ummm, decide to — divide the country and continue the politics of division,” said Biden.
Watch Biden’s comments above.
Original Story below:
President Biden is poised to deliver his first solo press conference with members of the media today shortly after 1PM; ending a nine-week blackout that defies nearly a century of White House tradition.
“During past administrations, it took former President Trump 28 days to hold a press conference, only 21 days for former President Obama, and 34 days for former President George W. Bush,” reports Fox News.
The briefing comes just hours after Biden appointed his Vice President -Kamala Harris- to lead the administration’s response to the spiraling crisis surrounding the US-Mexico border.
“President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts on stemming migration across the U.S.-Mexico border as the administration faces growing political pressure to address a surge in undocumented migrant children unaccompanied by parents,” reports NBC News.
BREAKING: President Biden says he has appointed VP Harris to lead efforts on stemming migration across the US-Mexico border; Harris will focus on coordination with Mexico and the Northern Triangle, Biden says. https://t.co/k5X9SuG7fg
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 24, 2021
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed US President Joe Biden for the massive influx of migrants from Central America moving across the United States’ southern border Wednesday; saying he signaled they would be “treated better” than the Trump administration.
“Expectations were created that with the government of President Biden there would be a better treatment of migrants. And this has caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, wanting to cross the border thinking that it is easier to do so,” Obrador told reporters.
“People don’t go to the United States for fun, they go out of necessity,” he added.
“They see [Biden] as the migrant president, and so many feel they’re going to reach the United States,” said the Mexican President. “We need to work together to regulate the flow, because this business can’t be tackled from one day to the next.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blames migrant crisis on Biden https://t.co/NixMJK9DrQ pic.twitter.com/AzhRqoVlLC
— New York Post (@nypost) March 24, 2021
Furious Republican lawmakers sent a scathing letter to the Department of Homeland Security this week after the agency reportedly released illegal migrants into the United States without court dates.
“Despite your repeated claims that ‘the border is secure,’ these reports raise serious questions about DHS’ commitment to faithfully enforcing the law,” said the statement signed by 14 legislators.
“Multiple Border Patrol agents confirmed the new process to Fox News, revealing that they have been directed to use prosecutorial discretion to forgo the hours-long process of paperwork required to issue an NTA amid the surge of migrants at the border,” reports Fox News.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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