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On Wednesday, US Vice President Kamala Harris informed reporters that she is planning to visit Mexico and Guatemala very soon. Her statement came several weeks after President Biden tapped her to lead the administration’s efforts to address migration at the southern border by focusing on the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico. The VP has been on the receiving end of criticism from Republicans for having not yet traveled to the border or Central American nations contributing to the increased flow of migrants. Point to be noted that the number of migrants trying to cross the border has critically increased in recent months. Some facilities holding migrants are filled far past capacity, in spite of the still-raging pandemic.

Reporters recently had a chance to look inside a facility in Donna, Texas, holding 16 times more migrants than its capacity during the pandemic. It is still unclear when VP Harris will make the trip to Mexico and Guatemala. President Biden tapped Harris for the role and said she would be working on two tracks, first on the objective of stemming the flow of irregular migrants to the US and establishing a strategic partnership with the nations within her purview. The White House press secretary Jen Psaki made it clear at the same time that the responsibility of Harris isn’t the border necessarily, but the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico. Biden announced that she would oversee the Northern Triangle nations.

VP Harris also informed a news outlet (CBS This Morning) and said, “It is important to address the root causes of the high numbers of migrants trying to cross the border. In addition to the border, we also need to deal with the root causes. We need to deal with what’s happening in the Northern Triangle and address it in a way that is about not only diplomacy but bringing our allies together. Dealing with what we need to do around aid in a way that is about developing those countries so that we also deal with the cause of why people are coming into our country”. It is important that multiple congressional delegations have taken trips to the southern border and migrant facilities recently to survey the situation.