Biden taps VP Harris to lead talks with Mexico, other countries on migrant surge

President Biden has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to be the point person on the administration’s talks with Mexico and Central American countries about slowing the tide of illegal immigrants crossing the US border.

The president told reporters at the White House Wednesday that he has asked Harris “to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that are going to need help in stemming” migration.

He said the vice president is the “most qualified person” to head up the effort, pointing to her experience as California’s attorney general and her work promoting the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus plan at stops around the country.

Biden acknowledged the “serious spikes” in migrants heading to the border and said it started with former President Donald Trump but he vowed to take ownership of the situation and handle it “humanely.”

“This increase has been consequential. But the vice president has agreed, among the multiple other things I have had her leading, and I appreciate it,” he said.

Harris will​ be involved in diplomacy and developing partnerships with Mexico and El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as working with the private sector to find solutions to the border rush. ​

“If you deal with the problem in the country, it benefits everyone. It benefits us, it benefits the people, it grows the economies there. Unfortunately, the last administration eliminated that funding and did not engage in it, did not use it, even though there was over $700 million to help get this done. We are reinstituting that program,” Biden said.

Harris thanked the president for having “confidence in me.”

“There is no question that this is a challenging situation. As the president has said, there are many factors that lead [people] to leave these countries. While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we also – because we can chew gum and walk at the same time – must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek as the president has described to come here.”  

Thousands of migrants have streamed to the border since Biden entered the White House, overwhelming the government’s detention facilities and leaving the administration scrambling to deal with the dramatic rise in numbers.