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Psaki insists Kamala Harris is STILL in charge of addressing the ‘root causes’ of migration

Psaki insists Kamala Harris is STILL in charge of addressing the 'root causes' of migration 2

The White House was forced to defend Kamala Harris on Monday, insisting she was still in charge of addressing the ‘root causes’ of mass migration after the president of Guatemala said he had not heard from the White House since the vice president’s visit in June. 

She was given that role by Biden in March, tasked with liaising with El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala as the administration faced a surge in the numbers of people reaching the southern border.

But during her regular daily briefing, Psaki was asked whether the vice president remained in the role.  

‘She is, and I just announced a commitment that she’s announcing this afternoon,’ said Psaki, referring to a $1.2 billion investment from businesses in Central American economies.

‘Well, then why is it that she has not spoken to the President of Guatemala since June?’ continued Peter Doocy of Fox News. ‘That’s six months.’

Psaki replied: ‘I know that I did see this kind of strange report from the president of Guatemala saying that he’s had no contact with the White House, which is inaccurate.’

Jen Psaki

Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing Monday $540 million in new investments in Northern Triangle countries as part of her Call to Action to improve economic conditions and weed out corruption in Central America

White House Press Secretary insisted Vice President Kamala Harris was still in chare of addressing the ‘root causes’ of mass migration on Monday  

Immigration remains one of the key challenges facing the administration in general and Harris in particular, as she manages the fallout from plunging poll numbers, hostile headlines and departing staff.

Last week, President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala added to her woes by claiming he had not heard from the White House in months.

‘We had many conversations with your ambassador, but [between] my presidency and the White House, no,’ he told Fox News.

‘I spoke once to Joe Biden because I introduced myself. Then we had the visit of Vice President Harris. On matters of state and migration, we had Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas. Aside from that direct communication, no we have not had it.’ 

The controversy threatened to take the shine off $540 million in new commitments from the private sector for Central America.

Initiatives included a push by Nespresso to support coffee-growing in Honduras and El Salvador, a Microsoft pledge to connect millions of people to the Internet and a $100 million commitment from Mastercard to promote digital payments and e-commerce. 

Harris appealed to the private sector in May for helping in supporting employment opportunities and economic growth as part of an effort to dissuade families from heading north to seek out better economic prospects.

But migrants continue to flood to the U.S. border with Mexico in record numbers with more than 1.6 million encounters with Customs and Border Protection since Joe Biden took office. 

Harris speaks about migration at a news conference with Giammattei during her visit to Guatemala on June 7, 2021

'Other than your meeting with Kamala Harris in June?' Fox News' John Roberts asked Giammattei. 'That is the only one,' he responded

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said in an interview Wednesday (right) that he has only spoken to Harris once – when she visited Guatemala in June (pictured left)

Migrants construct a makeshift shelter along the U..-Mexico border wall on December 9 as they await transport to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center

Migrants construct a makeshift shelter along the U..-Mexico border wall on December 9 as they await transport to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center

Thousands of migrants continue to pour over the border every day. Here a caravan walk on the Puebla-Mexico highway toward the U.S. on Thursday

Thousands of migrants continue to pour over the border every day. Here a caravan walk on the Puebla-Mexico highway toward the U.S. on Thursday

During Joe Biden's time in office, Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than $1.6 million migrants at the southern border with Mexico

During Joe Biden’s time in office, Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than $1.6 million migrants at the southern border with Mexico

Harris’ favorability is dismally low, with only 40 per cent approval, according to a Los Angeles Times average. Fifty-three per cent of respondents disapprove of her job as Biden’s No. 2.

In the same approval tracking, Harris’ approval dipped below her disapproval rating for the first time in early June, which was around the same time she was visiting Guatemala and Mexico as part of her border czar role. 

Despite all this, Harris brushes off criticism of her first year as vice president amid reports of a feud between herself and President Biden. She would not directly answer any questions related to what she learned in the last year when asked by the San Francisco Chronicle in an interview last week or address her failures in the role so far.

‘There is nothing about this job that is supposed to be easy,’ Harris said. ‘If something is coming to me, it’s because it needs to be addressed and because, by definition, it’s not going to be easy.’

‘If it was easy, it would have been handled before it comes to me,’ she added.

Migrants part of a caravan heading to the U.S. board a truck on the Puebla-Mexico highway in Mexico on Thursday, December 9

Migrants part of a caravan heading to the U.S. board a truck on the Puebla-Mexico highway in Mexico on Thursday, December 9

Migrants walk along a highway while traveling in a caravan toward Mexico City on their way to the U.S. border on December 9

Migrants walk along a highway while traveling in a caravan toward Mexico City on their way to the U.S. border on December 9

Harris twice wouldn’t directly answer a question whether she wished she’d done anything differently in her year as vice president.

‘I love people, and there’s so much that we are doing that is directly impacting and with the people in mind,’ Harris said.

She also bashed reports claiming she thinks Bluetooth earphones are not secure as ‘ridiculous’

The vice president convened a meeting Monday afternoon with private sector CEOs to discuss their pledges to invest in Central America. The roundtable includes Microsoft President Brad Smith; Paula Santilli of PepsiCo’s Latin American division; Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff; David MacLennan of Cargill; and Juan Pablo Mata of Grupo Mariposa, a food and beverage company based in Guatemala.

The seven new investments are coming from CARE International, Cargill, Grupo Mariposa, Parkdale Mills, PepsiCo, JDE Peet’s, and PriceSmart.

Mastercard, Microsoft, Nespresso and Partnership for Central America already had commitments with Harris’ Call to Action, but are announcing Monday additional action and investments in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The biggest new investment comes from PepsiCo, which plans to spend $190 in Northern Central America through 2025. These investments include improving infrastructure and manufacturing plants, expanding to new distribution routes and IT projects.

Harris' approval rating dipped below her disapproval in early June, around the time she traveled to Guatemala and Mexico. Her approval currently sits around a dismal 40 per cent

Harris’ approval rating dipped below her disapproval in early June, around the time she traveled to Guatemala and Mexico. Her approval currently sits around a dismal 40 per cent

Cargill and Parkdale Mills each pledged $150 million for agricultural and manufacturing projects.

Nespresso also committed to supporting the region’s economy with a minimum $150 million in spending across coffee purchases, price premiums and technical assistance by 2025.

Microsoft, which previously promised to give 3 million people in the region internet access, will up its commitment to 4 million people. It is also now promising to teach digital skills to 100,000 people.

Back on May 27, Harris announced a Call to Action from business and private entities to help address the root cause of migration by promoting economic opportunity in Northern Triangle nations.

These commitments now total more than $1.2 billion.

Harris initially announced the new commitments during closing remarks at a virtual event co-hosted by the State Department and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Partnership for Central America. 

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