US vice president visits southern border amid crisis, harsh criticisms

WASHINGTON, June 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday visited the nation’s southern border, amid a surge in illegal immigration as well as harsh criticisms against the administration’s handling of the issue.

Harris toured the US Customs and Border Protection Facility, as well as the El Paso central processing center, in the state of Texas which borders Mexico.

“We are here today to address and to talk about what has brought people to the US border and again to continue to address the root causes that cause people to leave and often flee their home country,” Harris said.

The vice president met with children who crossed over the border and leaders of non-governmental organizations.

“In five months we’ve made progress, but there’s still much more work to be done, but we’ve made progress on family reunification … And we’ve also made progress in addressing the root causes,” Harris said.

The trip comes amid criticisms from both conservative and liberal press over the border crisis, including migrant children being held in overcrowded conditions.

Critics also blast Harris for not making the trip sooner, after being tasked in March by President Joe Biden to deal with the border issue.

The number of border detentions rose to a 21-year monthly high of over 180,000 in May from 179,000 in April.

The visit also comes amid recent widespread US media reports about smugglers abandoning a crying 5-year-old boy. Smugglers in March dropped 3-year-old and 5-year-old children over a border fence, according to media reports.

“The border issue is a vulnerable point for Democrats because immigration issues are very contentious,” Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West said.

“Biden wants to alter many of Trump’s policies but not be accused of having open borders,” West said, referring to former President Donald Trump.

Biden has rolled back a number of Trump’s immigration rules.

Immigration over the US southern border has long been a point of contention between Democrats and Republicans, as well as liberals and conservatives in the United States.

Conservatives take a law and order approach, and argue, among other things, that migrants illegally crossing into the United States push wages down in certain industries. Democrats also espouse a number of arguments, such as that migrants are needed to keep certain industries humming.

Biden in March announced that he would put Harris in charge of addressing the reasons for increased illegal migration from Central America. The issue has grabbed headlines worldwide because a rising tide of unaccompanied children are crossing the border, traversing through harsh and dangerous territory before they reach the United States.

The task has thrown Harris right into a battle that has been going on for decades.

Harris announced her border visit not long after Trump announced that he would visit the border next week, but the administration dismissed the possibility that Harris’ visit was politically timed.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said the Biden administration decided that Friday would be an “appropriate time” for a border visit, because of the “great deal” of progress the administration has made on the issue.

The press secretary said a visit made any earlier would have caused disruptions.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement released Friday that the administration’s “failed policies and reckless open borders agenda is the true root cause of the raging border crisis.”

“Americans know that … Biden and Harris are refusing to take accountability for the crisis they created,” McDaniel said. — NNN-XINHUA