Kamala Harris Announces Mexico Border Visit Five Days Before Donald Trump's
Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she will be visiting the El Paso, Texas border on Friday after facing heavy criticism for not making the trip sooner.
Harris had come under recent scrutiny after Republicans pointed out that, after being tasked by President Joe Biden to be head of diplomatic efforts at the southern U.S.-Mexico border, she had yet to actually visit the border.
Politico reported she will be accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and the trip comes just days before former President Donald Trump is set to make his own appearance.
Harris has repeatedly pushed against the criticisms, stating that she is more focused on trying to tackle the root of the issue that is causing thousands of migrants from Central America to head to the border seeking refuge.
According to an earlier report by Newsweek, Harris said on June 10, "If we are going to deal with the problems at the border, we have to deal with the problems that cause people to go to the border. To flee to the border. And that is the root cause."
Harris has since visited Mexico and Guatemala, where she met with local officials and urged migrants not to travel across the border. While there, she answered questions with NBC News' Lester Holt on the Today Show which gained negative attention.
When asked if she had been, Harris responded, "We've been to the border. So this whole thing about the border, we've been to the border." Holt replied, "You haven't been to the border."
She quickly retorted while laughing, "And I haven't been to Europe. And I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making. I'm not discounting the importance of the border."
Politico reported that since the Biden administration took office, the number of migrants coming across the southern border has skyrocketed. According to Customs and Border Protection, in the month of April, nearly 180,000 migrants had been apprehended at the border.
Trump, whose trip is scheduled just five days after the vice president, has been a leading voice in calling out the efforts at the southern border since he left office.
He said in a statement last Tuesday that, "The Biden administration inherited from me the strongest, safest, and most secure border in US history and in mere weeks they turned it into the single worst border crisis in US history."
"We went from having border security that was the envy of the world to a lawless border that is now pitied around the world," Trump added.
Trump will be accompanied by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, as well as a group of House Republicans.
Newsweek reached out to Harris' office, which was not immediately available for comment.
Update- 06/23/2021 - 1:35 PM - This story has been updated with additional information
