White House Responds To Why Kamala Harris Is 'Not On The Border'

Kamala Harris hasn't visited the US-Mexico border as she is focusing on working on a "diplomatic level" after President Joe Biden assigned her to lead the migration crisis and look into the issues in the Northern Triangle, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

When Psaki was asked to clarify Harris' recent remarks that she had not made any migrant crisis-related trips due to coronavirus, the former told Fox News, "Well, I would certainly have to ask her team about that specifically, but I would tell you also that her focus is not on the border. It's on addressing the root causes in the Northern Triangle."

"That's why the majority of her time has been spent on working on a diplomatic level. She's going to speak with the president of Mexico next week, and she's working with them to ensure there are systems put in place to reduce the amount of migration coming from these countries, but also to address the root causes. And that's really what the president asked her to do," the press secretary added.

Psaki suggested that Harris may not travel to the border for security reasons, even though she recently visited states like Colorado and Illinois.

"If a president or a vice president goes down and visits a facility like this, you have to potentially clear some parts out. There's a lot of security that comes. Our focus here is on solutions, on making progress, on moving these kids out of facilities," Psaki said.

Meanwhile, the Vice President has updated her Twitter followers about her recent virtual meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.

"Today I hosted Guatemala President Giammattei for a virtual meeting. We're working together to address the immediate needs of the Guatemalan people, deliver relief, and deepen cooperation on migration. Over time I'm confident we can build a foundation of hope for a better future," she tweeted Monday.

Earlier, during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Harris said the situation at the southern border will not be "solved overnight."

"The kind of work that has to happen is the diplomatic work that we have been engaged in, including my calls to the president of Mexico, the president of Guatemala," Harris added.

"But it's not going to be solved overnight. It's a complex issue. Listen, if this were easy, it would have been handled years ago.

"This is about the Western Hemisphere. We are a neighbor in the Western Hemisphere, and it is also about understanding that we have the capacity to actually get in there if we are consistent. Part of the problem is that under the previous administration, they pulled out essentially a lot of what had been the continuum of work, and it essentially came to a standstill," she added.