Kamala Harris’ Mexico Trip Likely to Focus On Women and Youth Aside From Migration Issues
Vice President Kamala Harris will be heading to Mexico for her next stop after her Guatemala visit. She will be meeting with Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to discuss the migration influx at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But Harris' agenda also includes tackling vulnerable populations, including women and the youth. Some of the issues affecting the most vulnerable groups in Mexico are low wages and crime, the El Paso Times reported.
One resident and a factory worker in Juarez, Mexico, Karla Rosales, lives on the southeastern edge of Juarez, Mexico. The area is plagued with drug violence daily.
Weeks ago, two women in her neighborhood were found dead. Their bodies were also wrapped in plastic, while their bodies were left covered by blankets on the street.
Rosales said that the violence in Juarez is intense, while the government offers little support. She added that the residents live in a state of constant alert. The month of May had reported 144 homicides in Juarez, making it the deadliest month of the year so far.
Meanwhile, poor young men are especially vulnerable to being recruited by Mexican drug cartels. A nonprofit called Las Hormigas works with youth providing the education they receive in school with additional lessons in literacy, math, and other subjects.
The group also provides psychotherapy and regularly sees young children suffering from severe trauma. Criminal groups often take advantage of children, who are neglected, and offer them jobs and a sense of belonging. They also offer money that could be multiple times what their parents bring home.
READ NEXT: Kamala Harris Finally Sets Date for Long-Awaited Trip to Mexico, Guatemala
Kamala Harris' First Foreign Trip as Vice President
Kamala Harris arrived in Guatemala on Sunday night, June 6, for her first foreign trip, with aims to solve root problems that caused tens of thousands of Central Americans to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, NPR reported.
President Joe Biden had asked Kamala Harris to tackle the issue and address the main causes of the migration crisis. However, Republicans have criticized the vice president for not visiting the border.
Harris' focus is on the countries Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. These countries have experienced natural disasters and have problems with violence, corruption, and poverty.
On the other hand, Mexico's approach to the migration issue continues to rely heavily on the police and military, according to a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Tonatiuh Guillen Lopez.
Kamala Harris is set to fly to Mexico on June 8 and would spend the day there, Reuters reported. Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, said the key measure of success for the vice president's trip would be whether she can show the U.S. care about creating legal ways for migration from the region.
However, a Mexican government official said the timing of Harris' visit was not ideal since it coincides with the date when Mexicans will elect a new lower house of Congress, state governors, and local lawmakers.
The official, who had spoken anonymously, said the United States had pushed for the visit, expecting the Mexican government to keep the meeting low-key as the result of its biggest elections were processed.
READ MORE: Kamala Harris Purposely Avoiding a Visit to U.S.-Mexico Border, Border Patrol Union Chief Says
WATCH: Vice President Kamala Harris Makes First Official Foreign Trip - From Good Morning America
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