Critics are scrutinizing the Biden administration, particularly Vice President Kamala Harris, for not doing enough to fight the migrant surge at the border; meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to go to Costa Rica on Tuesday to work on the prolonged migrant crisis.
Blinken ahead of Harris to Central Am. So much for her assignment by Biden months ago. Dysfunctional. /// https://t.co/x1R8V5ctJP
— Dlaf (@dlaf96) May 30, 2021
In March, Harris was tapped by Biden to solve the overwhelming surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. She was also appointed to lead diplomatic talks with leaders in the Mexican and Northern Triangles.
However, since Harris was tapped to lead in addressing the migrant crisis, almost 70 days have already gone by; she hasn’t visited the border or even made an effort to conduct a press briefing to update the public about the progress she’s making.
Meanwhile, to defend the vice president, the White House stated that Harris’s role is not to address the surge of migrants per se. Instead, it is more focused on addressing the “root causes” of the border crisis.
Critics: VP Harris should SEE what is going on at the border
Yet, critics slammed the reasoning that the White House gave. They said that in order to address the “root causes,” it is necessary that the vice president at least see firsthand what is going on at the border.
The border crisis isn't a "crisis" until the border crisis threatens to sink Kamala Harris' career.
Then it's an image crisis.https://t.co/Or8WYDUXk4
— Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) June 1, 2021
Chad Wolf, former acting DHS Secretary, stated last month that if the vice president is actually addressing the border issue, she has to do both: go to the border and understand the conditions that are happening there.
She then must talk to the people working for the Border Patrol to hear firsthand what they encounter because all of these matters are interrelated.
On Tuesday, Blinken is expected to meet with various officials from Mexico, Central America, Dominican Republic, as well as government officials from Costa Rica in San Jose.
Unlike Kamala Harris, I went to visit America's southern border.
Some people have called the current situation a crisis…
The real truth is that this is an emergency for all American citizens. pic.twitter.com/k6Z1gxVdbC
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) May 27, 2021
According to the State Department, during Blinken’s visit to San Jose, he will meet Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada and Rodolfo Solano Quiros of Minister of Foreign Affairs. These meetings will occur in order to talk about the strong ties between the U.S. and Costa Rica.
Blinken will also participate in a meeting attended by senior leaders of the Central America Integration System and Mexico.
Meanwhile, Harris has NOT YET announced any plans to visit the border communities. Although according to her, she has a scheduled visit to Guatemala and Mexico in early June.
Biden-Harris addressed the “root causes” by giving $4 billion to border communities.
The Biden-Harris administration has been persistently emphasizing the “root causes” of the border crisis. According to them, the root causes include poverty, violence, and climate in Central America.
In addition to this, the Biden administration also called for $4 billion worth of investment in these regions, allegedly meant to “combat” these “root causes.”
Critics, however, argued that the Biden-Harris administration had incentivized the flow of migrants at the border. They also emphasized the rollback of Trump-era border protections as the cause of the migrant flow that hit 178,000 in the month of April alone.
