Kamala Harris will make her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday as Vice President.

Harris will head to the El Paso area, where she will be joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Maryokas, according to her senior advisor Symone Sanders.

Republicans have criticized Harris for her absence at the southern border after she was called on by Joe Biden to lead diplomatic efforts to stem the flow of migrants.

One of her biggest tasks as Vice President was taking on the causes of migration from Central America. She is largely focused on working with local leaders and advocacy groups to improve the economic and living conditions within the region. Harris repeatedly has said "do not come" to migrants making dangerous trips from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Republicans have remained on the attack that any influx of immigration is because of the absence of Biden and Harris, in what they argue is a crisis.

"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris came into office, they rip to pieces the international agreement that produced that success, and today we have the highest rate of illegal immigration in 20 years," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement on June 15. "Meanwhile, as the crisis rages, Joe Biden is nowhere to be found, and Kamala Harris is nowhere to be found."

Earlier this month Harris met with the presidents of Guatemala and Mexico in their respective native countries, along with other local officials. They discussed the economic and humanitarian solutions to people migrating out of their countries in search of a better life.

Harris has said that she is focused on achieving “tangible results.” She asserts that unless the root causes of migration are addressed nothing will be fixed.

Migration from Central and South America is in part due to climate change. Extreme weather has destroyed homes, forcing migrants to head to the U.S.

Another example would be the war on drugs. Thousands of people, many of them children, flee their native countries because of the violence that is caused by drug cartels,whose criminal enterprise is enabled by the failed 50-year-long drug war.

Details of Harris' trip have not been disclosed.

One migration facility in El Paso has received criticism from activists, who described unsafe conditions and allegations of abuse.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection have encountered 180,000 migrants, which is the most they have seen since March 2000. Most of these numbers were due to a pandemic-related ban on those seeking asylum, which enabled multiple migration attempts.

“I believe it is critical that you meet with local stakeholders and residents, consider their concerns, and use their lived experiences to implement more effective policies,” wrote Rep. Henry Cuellar D-Texas.

An Associated Press poll in April found most Americans do not approve of the Biden administration's handling of the significant increase of children arriving at the border, as 6 out of 10 say that the children’s safety should be their top concern. Biden has also received backlash from progressives as he has kept children in cages much like former President Trump.

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