Congressman Gonzalez Meets with Vice President Harris to Discuss Solutions to Border Issues

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) along with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) met with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the influx of migrants at the border and immigration reform. Congressman Gonzalez was the only member in attendance who represents the U.S. – Mexico border.

At the meeting, Congressman Gonzalez discussed how to best boost private sector investment and economic development to create jobs and incentivize migrants to stay in their home countries. Congressman Gonzalez continued to stress the importance of establishing an orderly and humane process to address mass migration, discourage the perilous journey to our border and relieve local border communities. He continued to urge the Biden-Harris administration to develop an infrastructure that allows for migrants to apply for asylum at a U.S embassy in their home country or neighboring country.

"It's imperative that we work together to stem the flow of migrants to our southern border," said Congressman Gonzalez. "The bottom line is that our communities in South Texas, hardworking personnel on the ground and our current immigration system are overwhelmed. We need to address the root causes of migration in the countries of origin in a bipartisan way or we're going to continue to experience migration happen long after this administration leaves office. I thank Vice President Harris for visiting with us today and look forward to working with her to get us on the right track."

Congressman Gonzalez was encouraged by the Biden-Harris administration's approach to deal with the root causes of migration to reduce the cyclical nature of irregular migration with long-term support to help strengthen government institutions, combat corruption and impunity, increase economic opportunity, reduce violence in the region and provide humanitarian assistance for natural disasters.

The Congressman took this opportunity to urge the administration to re-open the international bridges to non-essential travel and initiate vaccine diplomacy with bordering Mexican states. The Congressman and his colleagues in the CHC will continue to lead in Congress and collaborate with VP Harris to address the root causes of migration.