Vice President Kamala Harris got a cold welcome from some protesters in Guatemala City during her first international visit. The trip to a northern triangle country is part of her task of trying to address the root cause of the massive influx of illegal immigration that has plagued the new administration.
Harris' motorcade passed by some protesters who had banners that read "Kamala Mind Your Own Business," "Kamala Go Home," and "Kamala Trump Won," according to the New York Post.
As Guatemala's president blamed Biden for the border crisis, VP Kamala Harris was welcomed to the country by protestors with huge signs displaying messages such as "Trump won" and "Mind your own business." pic.twitter.com/BCdLdWvmQc
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 7, 2021
While this week is her first trip outside the United States as vice president, it hasn't exactly been all great. Before having her first meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Giammattei blamed the Biden-Harris administration for incentivizing people from his country and others to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border.
"The message changed to 'we're going to reunite families and we're going to reunite children. The very next day the coyotes were here organizing groups of children to take them to the United States," Giammattei said during an interview with CBS News.
During their joint press conference on Monday, Harris said people should not try to illegally enter the United States because they will be turned back. Her message is the latest in mixed messaging from the Biden administration, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stating during a White House press conference in March it's not that they didn't want people to come, it's just they didn't want people to come at that moment.
As for visiting the U.S.-Mexico border, Harris said she would rather take meetings with leaders than make what she called "grand gestures."