Vice President Kamala Harris is set to travel to El Paso, Texas on Friday (June 25) to visit immigration facilities. The trip to the US-Mexico border comes after Harris faced criticism during her first international trip since taking office earlier this month. On that trip, Harris told people considering migrating to the US “do not come.”
This trip to the southern border will include a tour of the El Paso central processing center, a US Customs and Border Protection Facility, and is scheduled to speak with migrants there, according to CNN. VP Harris is also scheduled to complete a walking tour and participate in an operational briefing on her trip. She’s also set to speak with legal service providers and advocates from NGOs during her trip before taking questions from reporters.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, and Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas are all also scheduled to accompany Harris.
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden tapped Harris to lead diplomatic efforts to address an influx of migrants coming to the United States. During her initial trip to Guatemala and Mexico, Harris said the administration is working to address the root causes of the surge. The Vice President’s spokesperson Symone Sanders told reporters on Thursday (June 24) that this latest trip would be to highlight the effects.
President Biden said Thursday (June 24) that Harris has “done a great job so far.”
“[T]he reason why it’s important that she go down, she’s now set up the criteria, having spoken with the president of Mexico and Guatemala, visited the region, to know what we need to do,” Biden added.
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