Vice President Kamala Harris said during an interview with CNN’s “State of The Union” Sunday that she can’t visit Central America “soon enough” to meet with respective leaders there.
“I come at this issue from the perspective that most people don’t want to leave home,” Harris said about the immigration crisis to host Dana Bash. “They don’t want to leave their grandparents, they don’t want to leave the place where they grew up, where they, you know, they speak the language, where they know the culture. The place where they’re from, the place that is home.”
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“Most people don’t want to leave home and when they do, it’s usually for one of two reasons: they’re fleeing some harm or they cannot stay and satisfy the basic necessities of life such as feeding their children and having a roof over their head,” the vice president said.
“I look at the issue of what’s going on in the Northern Triangle from that perspective. And then my take on it is that we’ve got to understanding that. We have to give people some sense of hope that if they stay that help is on the way,” Harris continued.
Harris explained that she met with several members of the Biden administration such as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in order to talk about focusing their efforts on “helping the farmers” in Central America who have been left “devastated by crisis in terms of climate and drought.”
“We are working on a plan to get there. We have to deal with COVID issues. But, I can’t get there soon enough,” Harris said when asked if she would visit Central America, though she didn’t specify when she might go there. (RELATED: Newt Gingrich Says Kamala Harris Was Put In Charge Of The Border Because ‘They Knew She Wouldn’t Do Anything’)
Harris was asked on March 22 if she had plans to visit the border amidst a rise in illegal immigrant crossings to which she laughed and replied, “Not today. But, I have before and I’m sure I will again.” Two days later, President Joe Biden announced that he was tasking Harris with dealing with the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border.
“I want to express to you the threats and challenges caused by this administration’s open border policies. These policies embolden and enrich cartels, smugglers, and human traffickers who continue to ramp up their criminal operations,” Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a letter to Harris on March 30, urging her to visit the border.