Vice President Kamala Harris takes questions from the press after her meeting with Mexico's president in Mexico City, June 8. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
During her first in-person meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said that the U.S. and Mexico are "embarking on a new era," with greater cooperation between the two countries on immigration, AP reports.
Why it matters: Harris was tapped by Biden to work on fixing the migrant surge at the southern border, a crisis that has threatened to overshadow some of the administration's early successes.
- This visit is part of her first foreign trip as vice president, aimed at addressing the root causes of migration.
- Harris touted the long-standing "interdependence and interconnection" of Mexico and the U.S. at the hourlong meeting at the Mexican national palace.
Harris' and Obrador's meeting comes after the Mexican foreign affairs secretary and the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico signed a memorandum aimed at forging cooperation between the two countries on development programs in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to AP.
- Harris also met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.