Kamala Harris softens her message to asylum seekers after her tour: "I am committed to ensuring that the US provides a safe haven for those seeking asylum"

The vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, softened this Thursday the harsh message she had sent to potential migrants during her trip this week to Guatemala and Mexico, assuring that she is “committed” to guaranteeing that her country will be a “safe haven for those seeking asylum.

In an exclusive interview with Efe, Harris also defended that his country is not “ignoring” Honduras and El Salvador; and revealed that during his meetings in Guatemala, he asked that NGOs and the press be allowed to “do their job” without obstacles in that country.

I want to start by asking you about the message you sent during your trip to Central Americans who are considering emigrating: “Don't come. If they come to the border, they won't be able to enter.”. You have received criticism from your own party for that message, and under US and international law, migrants arriving at the border have the right to request asylum.. What do you say to those who are fleeing for their lives, or who have other legitimate reasons for seeking asylum? Does he also tell them 'Don't come'?”. let me be very clear. I am committed to ensuring that the United States provides a safe haven for those seeking asylum.. Period.” He has also drawn criticism from experts who believe the government is not providing enough humanitarian protections for vulnerable people in the Northern Triangle, nor is it creating enough legal pathways for them to immigrate to the United States from those countries.. What is your response? We've made it clear that we need to expand legal immigration pathways, and a lot of that work is going to be done through the United States Congress, so we're pushing them to do it.. We are doing that while we rebuild our immigration system, deteriorated under the last Administration, but we must also deal with the root causes of migration, and that is why I traveled to Guatemala and Mexico (…), because those problems are about hunger in the region, the impact of hurricanes or that of covid-19. NO STOPS IN HONDURAS AND EL SALVADOR His mission focuses on the three countries of the Northern Triangle, but on this trip, he has only visited one. He did not go to Honduras or El Salvador. There are accusations of corruption against the presidents of those countries, and even of ties to drug trafficking, in the case of Honduras.. Do these accusations make those countries more difficult to deal with, and did they have anything to do with your decision not to travel there? I went to Guatemala because that is one of the main places we are seeing migration coming from, but our Administration has been working in all three countries. So it's not that we're ignoring the problems in El Salvador and Honduras, we're dealing with them; the United States Government is involved and continues to engage with the Governments of El Salvador and Honduras, primarily because we care about the people of those two countries. But do you plan to speak directly with the leaders of Honduras and El Salvador, and do you plan to visit those countries soon, this year? As I said, we are engaging with those two countries, we are already engaging with them at a very high level.. But don't you also consider it necessary to communicate with the presidents of those countries to carry out your mission, or is it too problematic for you, due to the allegations of corruption? I think it is important that we engage at a high level, and for example , our Secretary of State (Antony Blinken) has communicated with them, and that is one of the highest levels that there is. Everyone (in the homeland security team) is dealing with a part of this, but there is no region in those three countries that we have ignored.. “CONCERN” FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN GUATEMALA Part of their strategy consists of working more with civil society and the private sector, but in Guatemala, for example, there is a law that has just been approved that could threaten the survival of many NGOs. And the president of Mexico has warned the United States not to fund some organizations (such as Article 19 and Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity).. How can the United States ensure that it is strengthening civil society there, if some governments in the region try to limit its activities? Let me tell you that I raised that issue, because it is a specific concern that I have.. It is an issue that worries me deeply, because we want to make sure that there is independence: an independent judicial system, an independent press, and that non-profit organizations, NGOs, can do their work without interference.. I made that very clear. And I must tell you that I was very open with both President (Alejandro) Giammattei and President (Andrés Manuel) López Obrador about the concerns I have about corruption and impunity, and I was very direct with each of them regarding those concerns. .

(After the interview, Harris's spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, assured Efe that the vice president only meant “to refer to her meetings in Guatemala,” and not in Mexico, when she spoke of NGOs being allowed “to do their job without interference”).

And how did they take it, when you told them that? I think they appreciated my frankness. And, you know, this trip was more than anything to make clear what our priorities are, and that's one of my top priorities.. If we want to have a real impact on addressing root causes — and that includes my attempt to engage the private sector, nonprofits, foundations, and philanthropists, and to get more work done by US federal government agencies — , we have to face the problems of corruption and impunity. And in general, another of the themes of my trip has been to recognize that we are interconnected, that our world is interdependent and that the things that happen in that region affect the United States.. And for many reasons, including that, we have a concern that I expressed when I was there.. THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE You have made sure to include a gender perspective in your mission, and on this trip you have met with women entrepreneurs in both Guatemala and Mexico. As the first female Vice President of the United States, why do you think it's important to put women at the center of solutions, and how can you move that kind of gender perspective from being seen as secondary or unimportant? Throughout Throughout my career, one of my priorities has been to focus on women and girls, not just making sure they are protected, but making sure their voice is heard in the debates, powerfully.. So, you're right, it was deliberate.. In both countries, I wanted to emphasize the needs of women and girls: in Guatemala, (I met with women) who farm or are businesswomen; in Mexico, (the group) included union leaders, and we talked about many issues. And there is also the issue of violence: we are talking about violence throughout the region, in many of the countries, but let us also emphasize particular violence against women and children. I relate that to the work I've done, recognizing that when women have economic independence and economic power, they are better able to break free from abusive situations, and to protect themselves.. Oh, and in Guatemala I launched a $40 million initiative to empower young women. In Mexico, you said you had spoken with President López Obrador about the need to rethink travel restrictions. Can we expect the border with Mexico to be open for non-essential travel again later this summer, thanks to the vaccination program in that area? That's a priority, we have to deal with it at some point, remove travel restrictions. Seeing as, at least in the United States, we're getting close to getting the pandemic under some kind of control, what we've done is we've created a high-level task force, and we'll work with those other countries to nail down the details of how to minimize and lift travel restrictions.