Harris in Guatemala: “do not come”

[NewOrleans]

ok then.

www.npr.org/2021/06/07/1004074139/harris-tells-guatemalans-not-to-migrate-to-the-united-states

Speaking at a news conference Monday after meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Harris said the Biden administration wants "to help Guatemalans find hope at home." She then added, "I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come."

She added, "The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border."

[mcsangel2]

::head tilt::

As if...those people were planning on coming here for a vacation or something?

[SwimDeep]

I do like that they're making an attempt to address the root causes... but yeah. I keep thinking about what I would do in a situation where there's little food, tons of violence. I probably wouldn't wait for a corrupt government to get its act together. I'd leave. If I knew I had at least a chance at something better, I'd feel stupid not taking that chance.

[carmenere]

Jun 8, 2021 4:43:35 GMT -5 SwimDeep said:

I do like that they're making an attempt to address the root causes... but yeah. I keep thinking about what I would do in a situation where there's little food, tons of violence. I probably wouldn't wait for a corrupt government to get its act together. I'd leave. If I knew I had at least a chance at something better, I'd feel stupid not taking that chance.

Agreed. We have to address the root causes or else nothing will change. But that change is going to take decades and people are suffering now. I don’t know what the right answer is, but it sure would be nice if the US hadn’t deposed Guatemala’s elected leader and supported human rights abuses in its civil war.

[pixy0stix]

Sure, we're the root cause of the issues in Guatemala, of course we're going to fix it. /sarcasm

ETA: thepanoptic.co.uk/2016/11/19/american-intervention-guatemala/

[msmerymac]

This was always going to be a tricky issue, and was reported as such even before she went. The focus of the trip, according to the white house, was helping the "crisis in Guatemala" - without getting into the weeds about the US border or undocumented immigration, which is like talking about whales without mentioning the ocean.

[amberlyrose]

This was very disappointing, especially from our VP who is a child of immigrants.

[seeyalater52]

Jun 9, 2021 12:46:11 GMT -5 amberlyrose said:

This was very disappointing, especially from our VP who is a child of immigrants.

To be fair to her, there is a reason that Biden pawned this incredibly tenuous visit and general area of policy to her... and it’s an even worse look for him. She is not setting the agenda on immigration in this administration, and the person who is had known issues on this front from before he even announced his presidential run. Sending her out as a woman of color and child of immigrants to take the fall for him is certainly a choice, and a kind of gross one.

I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve criticism for this because it is reprehensible, but I think it’s worth looking at if this becomes a pattern in the dynamic between them.