Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed Vice President Harris for visiting New Hampshire before traveling to the southern border.
The Republican Senator from Texas joined the group of Republicans from New Hampshire that criticized VP Harris for visiting the Granite State before the southern border.
Cruz wrote on Twitter “GPS got confused….” after the news that Harris was traveling to the northern border state.
GPS got confused…. https://t.co/hFN65Pm50r
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 23, 2021
Cruz added in a separate tweet, “Montreal is going to invade.”
Montreal is going to invade. https://t.co/CMOZgpy5Kq
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 23, 2021
Both Cruz and Harris have some history in Canada. Cruz, was born in Calgary where his parents lived before they moved to Texas when he was a young child. Harris on the other hand, spent most of her youth in Montreal while her mother was working at a hospital there.
This is the first time that the Vice President’s visted New Hampshire since 2019. Back then she was still a U.S. Senator from California running for Vice President.
New Hampshire Republicans were quick to call the vice president out for visiting the state before she’s traveled to the southern border amid the ongoing crisis.
The New Hampshire Republicans wrote on Twitter, “Welcome to the #WrongBorder, [Vice President Kamala Harris]!” They continued, “As you travel over 2,300 miles away from El Paso, our country would be better served with an official visit to our southern border, not a campaign trip for [Hassan].”
Welcome to the #WrongBorder, @VP @KamalaHarris! As you travel over 2,300 miles away from El Paso, our country would be better served with an official visit to our southern border, not a campaign trip for @Maggie_Hassan. #BidenBorderCrisis #NHPolitics https://t.co/ZzNOVHegCD
— NHGOP (@NHGOP) April 23, 2021
Neither Biden nor Harris, who have been appointed by the President last month to lead the growing crisis at the border, have scheduled a trip to visit the border region. The Vice President also has not held any new conference to address the series of questions pertaining to her new role.
In their defense, the White House emphasized that the task given to Harris is addressing the “root causes” of migration.
On Thursday, during a roundtable on the Northern Triangle, Harris mentioned the main challenge in dealing with the chaos at the border. She said, “addressing the acute and root causes of migration away from that region, the reasons people flee.”
Harris also stated that most of these migrants that are crossing the border and fleeing to the United States of America, “don’t want to leave home.” She then listed various reasons as to why people are illegally immigrating to America.
The Vice President said, “We are looking at extensive storm damage because of extreme climate, we’re looking at drought in an area in a region where agriculture is one of the most traditionally important basis for their economy.” She continued, “We’re looking at what’s happening in terms of food scarcity as a result of that and in fact, incredible food insecurity, which we used to call hunger, food insecurity.”
Next month, Harris is scheduled to virtually meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other top officials next month to discuss root issues. She is also scheduled to meet on Monday with Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammatei.
According to reports, Harris is also planning to travel in June to the Northern Triangle region of Central America. However, the precise itinerary for the Vice Presiden was not yet clear. The region includes Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
MADAME VP, YOU’RE ON THE WRONG BORDER.
OVER 2,000 MILES AWAY, A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS ON THE NATION’S SOUTHERN BORDER DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION.
172,331 BORDER APPREHENSIONS IN MARCH ALONE.
OVER 20,000 UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT CHILDREN.
YOU ARE NOT NEEDED HERE.https://t.co/BlD0yZ1m4i— Al (@Al01619246) April 24, 2021
Republicans have blamed the liberalization of immigration and border policy by the Biden administration for the surge that has seen more than 172,000 migrants encountered in March alone. This includes rising numbers of unaccompanied children that have overwhelmed border facilities and led to images of packed children side-by-side in centers.