Kamala Harris, attacked by Republicans, visits border with Mexico

Published on : 06/26/2021 – 09:02

On the front line on the thorny issue of illegal immigration, US Vice-President Kamala Harris went to the border with Mexico on Friday, June 25 for a long-awaited trip to see the “effects” of the record influx of migrants, after weeks of criticism from Republicans.

The spring was marked by record arrests on the southern border of the United States. In May, some 180,000 people were arrested after crossing it illegally, a new high in 15 years.

“The president and I are absolutely committed to making sure our migration system works and that it is humane, and I truly believe that we are making progress in that direction,” said the vice president on visit to the Texas city. from El Paso, as the number of arrivals tends to decline during the hot summer months.

For her first international mission in early June, Kamala Harris visited Guatemala and Mexico saying she wanted to “tackle the causes” of the influx of thousands of migrants from that region. This time, the vice-president intended to “see the effects of what we have seen in Central America”.

See also the France 24 report: On the banks of the Rio Grande, migrants from Central America are more and more numerous

“If you want to fix a problem, you can’t just deal with the symptoms,” she said on Friday, in response to criticism from Republicans who accuse her of delaying getting to the border too long. Kamala Harris explained that he chose El Paso in particular because it is in this city on the border of Mexico that the Trump administration unveiled its “child separation policy”.

Under the Trump presidency, nearly 4,000 migrant children have been separated from their families. More than 2,000 still had not yet reunited with their loved ones in early June. For the Republicans there is no doubt: Joe Biden and his vice-president caused a draft by promising a migration policy more “humane” than that of Donald Trump.

The billionaire will travel to Texas on Wednesday to visit the border area with Mexico. “She never mentioned the need to secure our southern border,” lamented the party’s elected officials in the House of Representatives on Friday.

Others pinned down the words of the elected Democrat who had invited the vice-president to her Texas constituency, Veronica Escobar. “Welcome to El Paso, welcome home, welcome to the new Ellis Island,” said the latter upon the arrival of Kamala Harris’ team, referring to the small island located near New York where migrants arrived. in the 1950s. “Do Democrats agree with elected Escobar or do they think we are facing a crisis?” tweeted Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy.

With AFP