'Border czar' Kamala Harris is BACK on migration: VP will meet the President of Guatemala to discuss the 'root causes' of the surge in migrants from central America

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was charged with protecting America's borders, will meet Guatemala's President Bernardo Arevalo at the White House on Monday to discuss how to reduce migration from Central America.

Immigration has become a hot-button political issue for President Joe Biden as he seeks a second term in the White House. Republicans accuse him of mishandling border security amid record numbers of crossings.

The Biden team counters Republicans torpoeded legislation designed to help the issue at the urging of Donald Trump, Biden's rival for the White House. 

Biden put Harris in charge of discovering the 'root causes of migration' and the record number of crossings during his tenure led to Republicans calling the vice president a failed 'border czar.' 

Texas State Troopers stand guard blocking migrants camped out along the riverbank, at the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas

Statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that this fiscal year alone, there has already been a reported 961,537 border encounters.

The year, which runs from October to September, is already on current pace to break last year's record of 2,475,669. 

Overall, nearly 7.3 million migrants have entered the country under Biden's watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis found last month.

Harris' meeting with Arevalo is also meant to boost the new, liberal president's fledgling government. Arevalo's inauguration was delayed in January by opponents seeking to weaken his authority.

A White House official told Reuters that having a government in place in Guatemala that is committed to rooting out corruption would help reduce migration. 

Harris and Arevalo will discuss the Biden administration's use of 'safe mobility offices,' which were set up in Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador to help mitigate the immigration issue. 

The offices are designed to streamline the refugee process so migrants apply where they are and avoid paying smugglers to make the journey north.

The vice president is also expected to announce $5.2 billion in investments in Central America. Those investments include a commitment by Meta to train young people and small business owners in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Vice President Kamala Harris (left) will meet with Guatemala's President Bernardo Arevalo (right) at the White House to discuss migration issues

US National Guard personnel reinforce a fence covered in concertina wire in the vicinity of migrants on the border with Mexico, as seen from Ciudad Juarez

Migrants huddle on the dry riverbed of the Rio Grand river near El Paso, Texas

Arévalo won the presidency in August, beating the establishment candidate by a comfortable margin. 

He is the 65-year-old son of former Guatemalan President Juan José Arévalo, who is credited with implementing some of Guatemala´s key labor protections.

He has a background in academia and conflict resolution. He campaigned on a message of challenging the country´s entrenched power structure and resuming the fight against corruption.