President Biden visited the southern border in Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday and was accompanied by a number of senior administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but not Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden spoke in Brownsville after meeting with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders. He urged Republicans to support the bipartisan Senate bill that he believes will help solve the escalating crisis at the southern border.
“It’s very simple. It’s time to act. It’s long past time to act,” the president said. “The time has come to tackle this. We can’t wait any longer.”
Biden urges Republicans to support Senate bill during overwhelming border visit: ‘It’s time to act’
But the vice president, who was tasked with leading diplomatic efforts to tackle the “root causes” of migration in 2021, was nowhere to be seen.
Migrants wait to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after crossing the Rio Grande River into the U.S. from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
The administration initially leaned firmly into root cause theory in early 2021, arguing that root causes such as climate change, violence, poverty, and economic instability were driving migration to the U.S. border. So the answer was to work with governments and invest in targeting these causes and ultimately reducing immigration.
The role quickly earned Harris the nickname “border czar,” but the White House rejected the title, emphasizing instead that it had to do with international engagement. She ended up visiting the El Paso border in June 2021 after facing pressure.
As part of that effort, Harris is trying to attract private sector investment to the region. call to action – Particularly to the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
“First of all, I believe most people don’t want to leave their homes. They don’t want to leave their grandmothers. They don’t want to leave their places of worship and the communities they’ve always known.” says Harris. “And when they do, it’s usually for one of two reasons: They’re running away from harm, or staying means they simply can’t meet their basic needs or the needs of their family.” To do.”
A year ago, Harris announced an additional $950 million in response to the call to action, bringing the total since May 2021 to more than $4.2 billion.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Friday, February 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Meg Kinard)
But since then, her public role appears to have continually diminished, despite a historic year for illegal immigration. She encountered more than 2.4 million migrants in 2023. She was similarly overwhelming in 2016, with more than 300,000 encounters in December.
Ms. Harris did not participate in Thursday’s border tour and was not part of the delegation that traveled to Mexico City with Ms. Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in December.
During the meeting, the two countries “reaffirmed their previous commitments to promote orderly, humane, and regular migration,” according to a White House statement.
“This includes strengthening our partnership to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, inequality and violence, as well as our bilateral initiatives for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. ” he said.
However, despite discussion of the root causes, Mr. Harris did not attend. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
The LA Times recently reported: harris meets He was in Washington with Guatemala’s new president, Bernardo Arevalo, to announce increased private sector investment.
7.2 million people will enter the US under Biden administration, more than the population of 36 states
But while the root causes are still on the agenda, they appear to be less of a focus for the administration in its border strategy. Part of the reason for this is a surge in immigration from countries outside the Northern Triangle, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua. And China.
The administration is currently focused on passing the Senate border bill, which has bipartisan support but has struggled to gain enough support to pass due to opposition from conservatives. The bill includes additional funding for border staffing, funding for cities and NGOs, as well as stricter asylum regulations and mechanisms to block entry at certain levels. ing. Conservatives say it would codify unnecessarily high levels of illegal immigration.
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Harris released a statement earlier this month urging Congress to pass the bill.
“Remember, we are a nation of immigrants. Immigrants have always strengthened our country, grown our economy, and driven innovation. In America, we know that diversity is our strength. I know,” she said. “So instead of politicizing this issue, let’s approach this issue with the urgency and seriousness that we all need.”
