File Photo of US Homeland Security Jeh Johnson
US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will visit Guatemala Tuesday for talks on the flood of Central American child migrants entering the United States, his department said on Monday.
Johnson will take part in "meetings with the government of Guatemala to discuss issues of mutual concern, including the ongoing government-wide response to the influx of adults, families, and unaccompanied children across the southwest border," his department said in a statement.
Officials in Guatemala said the visit could last two days.
"We will look at short-term, medium-term and long-term fixes with" the United States after the arrival on US soil of thousands of unaccompanied minors from the region, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera said in Guatemala City.
Johnson on Tuesday will meet with Guatemalan President Otto Perez on security issues that will include the migration crisis; most of the children are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, all plagued by gang violence and poverty.
Johnson told NBC television Sunday that officials have reduced the "turnaround times" for migrants illegally entering the country along the Mexican border.
"I believe we're going to stem this tide," said Johnson, who added that President Barack Obama's administration is also intensifying efforts to discourage migrants from making the dangerous and difficult overland journey to the United States.
The immigration issue has gained new urgency in the United States after 52,000 unaccompanied minors crossed illegally into the US via America's southern border since October.
In Guatemala, Johnson will be joined by US Southern Command chief General John Kelly, and Thomas Shannon, counselor to Secretary of State John Kerry, said DHS and Guatemalan officials.
Obama has vowed to send more resources to secure the southwestern US border, where the flood of child migrants has stretched customs services and deepened the partisan fight over immigration reform.
The US president also wants to drastically increase the number of immigration judges to the area and to do more to crack down on criminal and smuggling networks.