WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to meet President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala on Monday as the U.S. grapples with an influx of migrants to its southern border, thousands from that Central American country.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the Biden administration’s use of so-called “safe mobility offices,” set up in the fall in Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador, among other immigration matters. streamline the U.S. refugee process so migrants can apply where they are and avoid paying smugglers to make the journey north.
As the 2024 elections heat up, immigration has become a growing concern for both parties. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress say the system is broken, but efforts by lawmakers to address the problems have failed. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has tasked Harris with addressing the reasons why people choose to leave their home countries to migrate to the US.
Harris and Arévalo will also discuss Arévalo’s anti-corruption agenda and how the U.S. can support the effort, a White House official said, previewing the talks on condition of anonymity.
Arévalo won the presidency in August, defeating the establishment candidate by a comfortable margin. He is the son of a former president responsible for implementing some of Guatemala’s most important labor protection measures, but his strong performance in a crowded field was still a shock.
The politician with a background in academia and conflict resolution caught fire with a message challenging the country’s entrenched power structure and resuming the fight against corruption.
The Democratic vice president is also expected to announce $5.2 billion in investments in Central America.
While arrests for illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in February were still among the lowest monthly figures during Biden’s presidency, arrests for illegally crossing the US-Mexico border increased by compared to the previous month to 189,922. Of those, 23,780 were Guatemalans.