WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Guatemala on Monday – the first stop on her first foreign trip in office.

During her visit, Harris met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei as the two discussed solutions to U.S. migration.

“We had a robust, a candid and a thorough conversation about the many issues that are priorities for each of our countries,” Harris said.

Migration is one of those issues to the United States. Harris said the two discussed ways to invest in the country and improve conditions so people don’t flee.

“The president and I discussed the fundamental belief that most people don’t want to leave home,” she said.

The vice president also had a message for those considering the journey: “Do not come. Do not come.”

Harris highlighted legal methods for immigration and promised the United States will enforce laws against illegal entry.

“If you come to our border, you will be turned back,” she said.

President Joe Biden tapped Harris to lead the White House response to the migration challenge earlier this year. This trip is a chance for her to highlight solutions.

But Republicans have said the trip is shifting the blame for the problem away from the Biden administration.

“Everything that they’ve been doing as it relates to this border crisis has been wrong,” Paris Dennard with the Republican National Committee said.

Dennard said the Biden administration should continue the work of the previous administration by finishing the border wall.

“She has to put American citizens first,” Dennard added.

Harris said she is focusing on tangible solutions.

“I will continue to be focused on that kind of work as opposed to grand gestures,” she said.

Not everyone was happy to see the VP in Guatemala.

The VP travels to Mexico on Tuesday.
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