VP Harris says will go to Mexico, Guatemala to address migration surge

Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she would travel to Mexico and Central America, including Guatemala, to discuss the root causes of the recent surge in migrants to the southwest U.S. border.

Harris detailed her plan ahead of a virtual meeting on the matter with her top national security adviser, Nancy McEldowney, and other advisers, according to The Washington Examiner. However, she did not say exactly when she'll make the trip.

Harris also did not answer reporters' questions about whether she'll also visit the border on the trip, amid questions about why she has yet to go there since President Biden several weeks ago put her in charge of border problem, in which thousands of illegal immigrants have arrived this spring to try to get into the U.S.

However, Harris said she recently talked to the leaders of Mexico and Guatemala, from where many of the recent migrants, many of them unaccompanied minors, have come.

"This is diplomatic work that ultimately, over the long term, will address the migration issues we're seeing. It's not an assignment to 'handle the border,' " White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said on MSNBC, according to Fox News.

Kamala said the point of her trip is to tackle the "root causes" of the migrant surge, which is largely violent crime and dire economic conditions in the region.

The trip will include visits to Honduras and El Salvador, the two other Central American countries in the so-called Northern Triangle region from which many of the migrants are coming.