Illegal immigration: Kamala Harris pleads in Guatemala for mutual aid and hope
"Most people don't want to leave their homes," but do so because "they can't meet their basic needs," said US Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Most people do not want to leave their homes", but do so because "they can not meet their basic needs," US Vice President Kamala Harris assured Monday in Guatemala, calling on the country to work together to s 'tackle the causes of illegal immigration to the United States.
“It is in our collective interest that we work together where we can find the opportunity to resolve long-standing issues,” Ms. Harris said during a panel discussion with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. According to the US Vice President, "most people don't want to leave their homes, they don't want to leave the place where their grandmother grew up, the place where they pray, the place where they speak their language. and where their culture is familiar ”.
Those who migrate are "running away from danger or because they simply cannot meet their basic needs", she added, stressing the need to give "a sense of hope, that help is on the way ”in a region hard hit by Covid-19, violence and poverty exacerbated in 2020 by the passage of two hurricanes. However, according to her, “hope does not exist in itself. It must be associated with relationships of trust, it must be associated with tangible results "in order to" convince people that there is a reason to hope for their future ".
In a country where nearly 60% of the 17 million inhabitants live in poverty, Mr. Giammattei stressed the "need to build walls of prosperity, especially in the departments close to the border with Mexico", creating jobs. The first international tour of the American vice-president, in charge of the illegal immigration file, is part of the promise of Democratic President Joe Biden to adopt a migration policy that is more "humane" than that of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.
500,000 doses of vaccines against Covid-19
She then sent a message to the candidates for the clandestine trip: “Don't come. Don't come. The United States will continue to enforce its laws and secure its borders ... If you come to our border, you will be turned away, ”she said at a joint press conference. She also announced the creation of a joint working group on smuggling and trafficking in human beings, the establishment of a program to increase economic opportunities for women, as well as an anti-corruption working group for train Guatemalan prosecutors to trace the route of foreign bribery money. "We talked about the importance of fighting corruption and having an independent judicial system," said Harris, also announcing the shipment by the United States of 500,000 doses of vaccine against Covid-19 to Guatemala.
The number of undocumented migrants arrested at the border between Mexico and the United States reached its highest level in 15 years in April. Among these more than 178,600 migrants, including minors who arrived alone, 82% came from Mexico and the “northern triangle” of Central America - Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. On Tuesday, the Vice-President will be in Mexico to meet with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
