U.S. VP Harris and Guatemalan President Giammattei To Work Together on Root Causes of Immigration

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has spoken by phone on Tuesday with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. The two reportedly agreed to work on addressing the root causes of immigration to the United States, according to the White House.

"They agreed to explore innovative opportunities to create jobs and to improve the conditions for all people in Guatemala and the region by promoting transparency and combating crime," the statement was quoted in a Voice of America News report.

Harris then thanked Giammattei for his efforts to fortify the Guatemalan southern border as a new caravan has repeatedly formed.

For their part, Guatemala's government said that during the call, Giammattei noted the Guatemalans living in the U.S. under the temporary protected status.

The said status allows nationals of certain countries facing major natural disasters to remain and work in the United States. This is only applicable to those migrants who are already in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Giammattei also said that Harris had accepted the offer of the president to visit the Central American country at any future date, according to Big News Network report.

Harris' Role

Harris was earlier tapped by U.S. President Joe Biden to address the border crisis through diplomatic efforts to countries with the highest number of citizens fleeing to the U.S.

Biden said that Harris is the most qualified person to do it.

"As she speaks, she speaks for me, doesn't have to check with me, she knows what she's doing - and I hope we can move this along," Biden was quoted in a CBS News report.

Officials noted the vice president's experience in fighting organized crime and upholding human rights as a former California attorney general and member of Senate committees that particularly dealt with migration policy.

Honduran Migrants

Meanwhile, a group of Honduran migrants has set out for the Guatemalan border before dawn Tuesday. The migrants were hoping to reach the U.S. with dreams of a better life.

However, by afternoon, they had been largely dispersed, according to an Associated Press report.

Guatemalan authorities have recently dispersed other recent caravans. A new migrant caravan had been reported for days, with smaller groups than the one that was formed in January.

Mexico last week started restricting crossings at its southern border to essential travel.

The Northern Triangle countries, namely Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, have accounted for most migrants arriving in the U.S.

Most of the reasons for the migrants fleeing the said countries were gang violence and lack of economic opportunities.

With the pandemic still continuing, conditions in the said countries were only exacerbated.

In February, around 9,500 unaccompanied migrants entered the U.S. border. This was reported with an average of 530 encounters per day, according to U.S. border officials.

As of now, Health and Human Services shelters house more than 11,300 unaccompanied children.

Harris said that they will address the situation at the border not only with diplomacy but by bringing allies together.

WATCH: Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the response to the migrant issue as numbers rise at border - from Los Angeles Times