Kamala Harris speaks with AMLO about immigration and arrival of children.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported through his Twitter account that he had a conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris about immigration issues.
He added that issues related to Central America, human trafficking and human rights were addressed, especially in dealing with migrant children whose arrival has increased in the last two months.
"We spoke with Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States and in charge of dealing with the immigration issue in Central America," said the Mexican president. "There is a willingness on our part to join forces in the fight against human trafficking and the protection of human rights, especially of girls and boys . "
Harris was appointed by President Joe Biden to work directly on a plan to help reduce irregular immigration from the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico , addressing root problems, including insecurity and lack of economic opportunities.
In 2019, as soon as he assumed the presidency, the Mexican leader presented a Development Plan for Central America, which had been endorsed by several European nations, but it is unknown whether in this new alliance with the United States he will continue with his proposal or will be made. efforts in parallel.
The Biden Administration has not responded to requests from this newspaper about whether or not it would join that plan by López Obrador, but in press conferences, the US president affirms that he intends to make a multi-year investment in the region.
The Harris team indicated in a subsequent official message where the collaboration of the Mexican leader in the bilateral agenda was appreciated, to address different problems in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
"They agreed to continue working together to address the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, including poverty, violence and lack of economic opportunities," it was noted. "They also discussed the deepening of the relationship between the United States and Mexico to attack human trafficking and human trafficking."
Last week, Vice President Harris said that she had spoken with the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei .
I spoke with President Giammattei, of Guatemala, to discuss coordinated action to address the causes that originate migration to the United States and to develop and implement innovative solutions that improve the conditions of people in their countries of origin." Harris said.
On March 24, the vice president assumed the responsibility assigned by President Biden, in coordination with the efforts started by a delegation led by former ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson and other State Department officials to Mexico and Guatemala.
Activists lobby
This Wednesday, a group of activists from the CASA organization held a rally in front of the residence of Vice President Harris to remind her that she comes from a migrant family and ask her to “fight for them” in the same way.
The immigrant community is counting on Vice President Kamala Harris to leverage her leadership to fight for immigrant children and families,” organizers said.
Their demands include moving forward with a plan that helps "find solutions for migration" and, above all, guarantee the union of families.
“We are asking Kamala Harris to support us in immigration reform… we supported them to get to the White House, so now we wait for immigration reform. Immigrants have already had nothing for 30 years, we are here adrift, ”said Ana Machado, originally from El Salvador.
“We are asking for the help of the vice president, who has power right now, since she is in charge of the committee that is watching what is happening with the situation on the border, but she also has a special role in the Senate, because she can break the 50-50 votes in order to pass the legislation in favor of immigrants, ”said Alex Vázquez, a member of the organization.