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Vice President Kamala Harris Visiting Texas Border City Friday

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she’ll be visiting a city along the U.S.-Mexico border this week. It’s a first visit for the vice president and comes weeks after she was criticized for visiting Latin American countries where people heavily migrate from rather than seeing firsthand their arrival at the U.S. Southwestern border.

Harris will be joined by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Friday for a visit to El Paso, Texas.

The visit doesn’t come without its pitfalls: Customs and Border Protection’s apprehension data shows El Paso Sector hasn’t had an increase like the Rio Grande Valley or areas in Arizona. And earlier this month, Gov. Ducey criticized the vice-president for not traveling to the border region. 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Harris started with visiting Latin American countries as part of a plan to address why people leave their home countries.

"This trip to the border on Friday will be a part of this effort," she told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

There’s also the question of timing. Harris and Mayorkas will visit El Paso days ahead of former President Donald Trump who plans to visit the region next week.

Fronteras Desk senior editor Michel Marizco is an award-winning investigative reporter based in Flagstaff.