Here she goes again.

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Honduras next week as part of a fresh effort to address what the Biden administration calls the “root causes” of the ongoing migration crisis, the White House announced Tuesday.

As part of the trip, the veep will lead the US delegation attending the inauguration of Honduran President-elect Xiomara Castro. The administration said the two women spoke on the phone last month and vowed to “deepen the partnership between the United States and Honduras and work together to advance economic growth, combat corruption, and address the root causes of migration.” 

Harris, whom President Biden tapped as his point person for addressing immigration issues in March last year, has been widely criticized for her clumsy handling of the border crisis.

For example, as the US grappled with record-setting numbers of illegal crossings in 2021, Harris failed to visit the border region until June, 94 days after she was handed the White House portfolio on the issue. Even then, she was criticized by Republicans for visiting El Paso, Texas, rather than going to the Rio Grande Valley, where most of the crossings were taking place.

Earlier that month, Harris attempted to laugh off a question from NBC News anchor Lester Holt, who pointed out that the VP had found time to visit Mexico and Guatemala but had not yet managed to visit the US-Mexico frontier.

“You haven’t been to the border,” the “NBC Nightly News” anchor pointed out, to which Harris responded, “And I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t understand the point that you’re making.”

Last month, Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei claimed in an interview with Fox News that he hadn’t heard from Harris since her June visit.

“We had many conversations with your ambassador, but [between] my presidency and the White House, no,” Giammattei said. “I spoke once to Joe Biden because I introduced myself. Then we had the visit of Vice President Harris. On matters of state and migration, we had Mr. [Homeland Security Secretary] Alejandro Mayorkas [in July]. Aside from that direct communication, no, we have not had it.”

The White House later brushed off the report, with press secretary Jen Psaki telling reporters that Giammattei has “had a range of conversations” with administration officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan. 

Last week, Harris held a phone call with Giammattei during which she “reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to working together with Guatemala on a broad agenda that includes the root causes of migration, trafficking, economic development, and anti-corruption,” according to the White House.

Meanwhile, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who represents a border district, told the New York Times last month that his offers to help Harris navigate the immigration issue fell on deaf ears.

“I say this very respectfully to her: I moved on,” Cuellar told the paper. “She was tasked with that job, it doesn’t look like she’s very interested in this, so we are going to move on to other folks that work on this issue.”

Illegal border crossings skyrocketed during Biden’s first year in office. In fiscal year 2021, Customs and Border Protection data estimated that officials encountered approximately 1.72 million migrants who illegally crossed into the US or sought asylum. 

The number of crossings peaked in July with around 213,000 encounters, then steadily declined for three consecutive months. November saw the most recent spike of border crossings, rising to roughly 173,620 individuals. 

Officials have not yet released data on encounters in December. However, recent images from holding centers in Arizona have shown severe overcrowding.