Video recorded by journalists traveling with Vice President Kamala Harris in Mexico City on Tuesday shows the vice president’s car surrounded by motorbike-driving local reporters hoping for views of Ms Harris.
The chaotic scene unfurled on Tuesday morning as Ms Harris arrived in the country for her second day of discussions with local leaders about the Central American migration crisis which has led to record numbers of migrants headed for the US border.
In a video posted by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Epstein, dozens of motorbikes are seen following the vice president’s motorcade while local police officers, also on motorbikes, guarded Ms Harris’s vehicle.
According to Bloomberg, some of the journalists appeared to be live streaming from the backs of the bikes as they traveled through Mexico City’s bustling downtown area.
Harris’ discussions with Mexican officials on Tuesday follow her meeting with Guatemala’s president a day earlier.
The trip is Ms Harris’ first foreign excursion since taking office in January. The vice president was tasked by President Joe Biden with addressing the factors contributing to the US border crisis earlier this year.
Her efforts have been criticized by Republicans who have accused the Biden administration of not taking the surge in migrant border crossings seriously and argued that Ms Harris has failed to show that the issue is a priority given her lack of visits to the border itself.
Ms Harris fought back against those criticism in an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt on Monday evening.
“I’m in Guatemala because my focus is dealing with the root causes of migration,” said Ms Harris in the interview. “There may be some who do not think that is important. But it is my firm belief that if we care about what is happening at the border, we better care about the root causes and address them. So that’s what I’m doing.”
