Vice President Kamala Harris is under fire from the left and right over her trip to Central America and Mexico to deal with the surge in illegal immigration. She was even confronted in an interview for not visiting America’s southern border.
Summary
On a trip to Guatemala to discuss “the root causes” of migration to the United States from Mexico and Central American nations, Vice President Kamala Harris bluntly stated to those considering entering the United States via the border in a press conference “Do not come.”
- During the same press conference, Harris announced “new initiatives” such as “a joint task force to combat human trafficking and smuggling” and American investments in Guatemalan agricultural businesses and affordable housing.
- In the midst of her trip, NBC News aired an interview with the Vice President who had difficulty defending her decision to not visit the US-Mexico border yet, saying “We’ve been to the border” referencing administration officials.
- The last leg of Harris’ trip is to Mexico City, where she will meet with the Mexican president and sign a “memorandum of understanding” to increase cooperation between the United States and Mexico in support of Central American nations from which migrants originate.
- In reporting on Harris’ trip, Reuters dropped the pretense, saying “The Biden administration has been overwhelmed by the number of migrant children and families” at the US-Mexico border.
- Vox speculates that while Harris’ message of “Do not come” to the border is “consistent with the Biden administration’s stance from the outset”, it is apparent information campaigns are not as effective as previously thought.
- Newsweek highlighted criticism from Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Harris’ comments on avoiding the US-Mexico border, saying “the US spent decades contributing to regime change and destabilization in Latin America. We can’t help set someone’s house on fire and then blame them for fleeing.”
- The New York Times’ reporting gave VP Harris credit for “brusque language” on fighting corruption in Central American nations given the criticism Guatemalan president Alejandro Giammettei has received for being averse to fighting corruption.
- OAN covered protests of Harris’ visit to Guatemala, in which protestors chanted “Trump won” and called US foreign aid “blackmail.”
- The Federalist highlighted the stark differences between what the Biden administration and the Guatemalan government blames for the “unprecedented” illegal immigration occurring: White House staff blame climate change while Giammettei blames the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
- RedState enjoyed the in-fighting among Democrats when Ocasio-Cortez disparaged the Vice President on twitter, saying “Harris and her boss have directly caused the current border crisis. AOC and her viewpoints have also perpetuated it. There are no good guys here.”
Author’s Take
One could almost feel empathy for the Vice President, knowing she is between a rock and a hard place. The border crisis went into overdrive when Biden-Harris administration was sworn in after irresponsible campaign rhetoric encouraged a flood of illegal immigration.
If there is one thing the majority of Americans would appreciate in their elected officials, it should be honesty. Yet, in the first days and weeks of the Biden-Harris administration, they gaslighted the American people, pretending it wasn’t a crisis, condemning the actions and policies of the previous administration, while continuing some of those very same policies. We were subjected to unending coverage condemning “kids in cages” during the Trump administration, but now they were children being held in temporary facilities.
Sadly, mainstream media were all too willing to run with the Biden administration’s excuses. Between this and the Wuhan Institute of Virology investigation, it appears as though the Biden-media honeymoon could be over.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
