I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous track to the United States Mexico border do not come that was vice president kamla Harris in June of 2021 during a visit to Guatemala where she told locals intending to migrate not to enter the United States since then the US has reported record levels of illegal border crossings peaking in December of 2023 with 2 50,000 encounters but those numbers have dropped significantly by June with only around 84,000 encounters despite that President Donald Trump told CBS News over the weekend
that Harris presided over quote the worst B border ever as what he called a quote unquote borders are statements like that will become more frequent now that Harris seems likely to be the person to face Trump in the 2024 presidential election so we turn now to CBS News immigration and politics reporter Camila Montoya gal who is in Tempe Arizona I believe uh Camilo vice president Harris was not a bordar what exactly though was her role in the administration when it came to immigration hi John that's right in March of 2021 when the bid Administration was
facing the early stages of this influx in illegal border crossings President Biden did ask vice president Harris to oversee the administration's diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from three specific countries Guatemala Honduras and El salador collectively as you know this region is known as the northern triangle of Central America and it has been one of the main sources of us-bound migrants to the US Mexico border over the past decade Harris was tasked with reducing the factors such as corruption poverty and violence that push people to flee the countries as you rightly noted
John she was not given the title of border isar and she was not also told to oversee the administration's policy on immigration or on Border enforcement that has really been the responsibility of officials like Homeland Security secretary Alejandra maoris who oversees the three main immigration agencies in the US government instead vice president Harris has focused her immgration role on on securing private sector investment in Central America and promoting democracy and economic opportunities there through diplomatic efforts so far the White House says that her campaign has raised over5 billion dollar in private sector Investments towards the
region and this is not to say Obviously John that the vice president's work on immigration should not be criticized or scrutinize but I do think it's important to clarify what her actual responsibilities on the issue are and what they are now you've so many times explained to us uh about the push and pull factors um the lacks or the the laws in the United States perhaps being a poll being an inducement to people to to come to the United States the push factors being the local conditions in those countries Paris was focused on those local
conditions trying to improve them so that there's Less Reason To Leave how did she do how does the left and right think she did on that specific push factor question well Republicans again have labeled her the Border Asar and again that's not her title but that's certainly been one of the main political attacks against her during her tenure as vice president now as perhaps the likely Democratic nominee for president in 2024 and they have noted that president vice president Harris for that matter has not traveled to the US Mexico border apart from one trip to
El Paso in June of 2021 and that is true that it was her only trip to the US Mexico border and even though she's not the Border Zar quote unquote she is the second highest ranking official in an Administration John that as you know has faced record levels of illegal Crossings along the US Mexico border so she will face tough questioning on this issue but as you noted at the top of the segment illegal border crossings along the Mexican border have plummeted in recent weeks especially after president President Biden issued that sweeping executive action that
has made most migrants at the border ineligible for Asylum so she is going to start her campaign being able to say that the Administration has allowed border officials to gain these new authorities that have dramatically reduced the level of illegal immigration at the US Mexico border but again she has been criticized from the progressive left on this issue some of these activists on the left believe that the Biden Administration has embraced some Trump likee policies on immigration including that executive order on Asylum and as you highlighted during the top of the show she did go
to Guatemala in 2021 to tell migrants to not come and that message was not received very well among some Progressive lawmakers Monto gz in Tempe Arizona thanks a lot Camila
