Daily US Times: US Vice President Kamala Harris has urged Guatemala citizens not to try to enter the United States illegally.
Speaking on her first international trip since taking office, she said the journey north was dangerous and would mainly benefit people smugglers.
The US Vice President warned people they would be turned back at the border.
Ms Harris has been tasked by President Biden with controlling a surge in migration at the southern border.
She has described her task as finding solutions to tackle the root causes of the border crisis, including the lack of economic opportunities and corruption. The staff of Ms Harris say this first visit is primarily an information-gathering trip.
In a news conference alongside Alejandro Giammattei, the president of Guatemala, she warned against illegal migration to the US, saying: “Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders.”
“If you come to our border, you will be turned back,” she added.
Ms Harris said she wanted Guatemala and the US to “work together” to find solutions to “long-standing problems”.
She said in the news conference that people must be given a “sense of hope that help is on the way”.
Ms Harris added: “It must be coupled with relationships of trust. It must be coupled with tangible outcomes, in terms of what we do as leaders to convince people that there is a reason to be hopeful about their future and the future of their children.”
President Giammattei defended his government’s record of fighting against corruption and said the fight against drug trafficking should be an key part of tackling the issue.
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