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Vice President Harris meets with Mexican president to address migrant increase

2 years 9 months 2 weeks ago Wednesday, June 09 2021 Jun 9, 2021 June 09, 2021 9:17 AM June 09, 2021 in News - Immigration / Borderwall

Vice President Kamala Harris met with Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday to try to find solutions to the increase in migrants from Central America entering the U.S. and Mexico.

Just a day before, Harris met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, where she told migrants planning to make the trek to the U.S., "Do not come." 

RELATED: Harris turns focus to Mexico on trip to address migration  

That message drew criticism.

"The message has to be more comprehensive," said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute. "It can't be just about saying, 'Don't come' or 'Don't come now'. It has to come with an alternative so that migrants know what avenues for legal migration exist for them to come."

But this also includes investments from both the United States and Mexico in Central America's Northern Triangle consisting of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

READ ALSO: Harris says leaders need to restore hope in Guatemala  

"Its clear that both countries are connected that they have to work together on migration despite whatever other disagreements they may have with each other," Soto said.

Even with a pandemic, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the highest number of detained migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in 20 years.

"To turn that tide its going to be very hard because these criminal organizations-- they're making a lot of money on the situation," said law enforcement expert Steve Romero.

Although the U.S. and Mexico have had issues combating corruption and violence, some experts say that immigration issues will be looked at as a completely separate issue. 

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