DURING a sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris, Lester Holt mentioned criticism that she has received for not visiting the US-Mexico border.
Harris has been put in charge of the country's southern border and leads the White House's efforts to address the increase of migration to the US.
What did Kamala Harris say during her Lester Holt interview?
In the interview with NBC News, Harris pushed back against the disapproval she has received.
The interview aired Tuesday with Holt asking, "Why not visit the border? Why not see what American's are seeing in this crisis?"
"I care about what's happening at the border. I'm in Guatemala because my focus is dealing with the root causes of migration."
"There may be some that think that that is not important but it is my firm belief that if we care about what's happening at the border we better care about the root causes and address them so that's what I'm doing."
Harris had stated earlier in the interview, "At some point, you know, we are going to the border. We have to deal with what's happening at the border there's no question about that. That's not a debatable point."
"But we have to understand there's a reason people are arriving at our border and ask what is that reason and identify the problem so we can fix it."
What did Vice President Harris promise Guatemala?
The NBC journalist followed up and asked Harris what solutions the administration is offering these countries.
The vice president explained the process, "What is the United States' interest in this? We're prepared to show up and do it in a way that is motivated by the best interest of diplomacy and democracy and goodwill."
"There's not gonna be a quick fix" but she said that the world will begin to "see progress" but that it will "take some time."
When asked what specific solutions the US is offering Harris elaborated, "One of the first things we as a nation were able to offer Guatemala was support with their vaccines."
The Biden administration announced last week that they had made a commitment of 500,000 vaccines to Guatemala.
They are also partnering with Microsoft to grant people access to banking systems and assist them with their digital connectedness.
"But the bones of the work is the same, let's see the people, let's see their needs, and let's focus on it."
When did Kamala Harris meet with the Mexican president?
Vice President Harris met with Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador on June 8, 2021.
As she did in her NBC interview, Harris reiterated that the US must give “equal weight” to the root and acute causes of the migration.
“If this were easy it would’ve been handled a long time ago,” she claimed. “I’ve been to the border. I will go again.”
Harris and Obraor signed the Memorandum of Understanding which indicates America and Mexico's intent to work together.
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