Biden appoints Harris as point person for border crisis [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Joe Biden chose Vice President Kamala Harris as the lead person to work with Mexico and Central American countries to address the migrant surge in the US-Mexico border.
• Harris thanked the president for the confidence he had in her.
• Thousands of migrants have flocked to the border since Biden took the US presidential seat.

To address the rapid spike of migrants at the US-Mexico border, President Joe Biden has appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the discussion with Mexico and Central American nations.

Speaking with White House reporters on Wednesday, Biden said that he asked his VP “to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that are going to need help in stemming” migration.

The president said that Harris was the “most qualified person” to spearhead the task force, touting her accomplishments as former attorney general of California. Her implementation of the administration’s COVID-19 stimulus package across the US also factored in on the president’s decision.

Biden was aware of the rapid surge of migrants on the border, which could be traced back to the previous administration that initiated the crisis. He pledged that he would handle the issue “humanely” and will be on top of the situation soon.

“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 declared.

“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,” the president continued.

Harris thanked Biden for the confidence he has in her capability.

“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 … must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek as the president has described coming here,” she said.

The VP will be working on diplomatic coordination efforts with the South American countries. She will also be in touch with the private sector to better achieve resolutions on the ongoing crisis.

Thousands of migrants have gathered at the border since Biden was officially sworn in office. Federal officials have been struggling on how to manage the influx of people coming in amid the pandemic.

Source: New York Post