Who needs a stylist? Karen Pence shows she has a human touch as she comforts Guatemalan children who lost their homes to volcano after being criticized for unfashionable dress

  • Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen visited Guatemala on Thursday 
  • They were pictured holding children who lost their homes to the Volcano of Fire  
  • Karen wore a simple white shirt to comfort the children shortly before leaving
  •  It comes after she was blasted for wearing an inappropriate dress to meet the King and Queen of Jordan

Second Lady Karen Pence comforted Guatemalan children who lost their homes to a volcanic eruption - a day after she was slammed for wearing an unfashionable dress.

She and husband Vice President Mike Pence spoke to families displaced after the Volcano of Fire erupted, killing 112, during a visit to Guatemala City on Thursday.

Karen was pictured in an embrace with a little boy who lost his home, wearing a simple white shirt and black slacks.

It comes after she was slammed on social media for wearing a 'too short and tight' dress to meet King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan on Monday.

Karen's black and pink dress prompted backlash on Twitter – with one critic urging Pence to 'get your wife a stylist and quick!'

Karen Pence holds a child  who lost his home to the eruption of the Volcano of Fire, as she and Vice President Mike Pence prepare to depart Guatemala City on Thursday

Karen Pence holds a child who lost his home to the eruption of the Volcano of Fire, as she and Vice President Mike Pence prepare to depart Guatemala City on Thursday

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen hold children from the Monroy Barrera family who lost their home in the eruption of the Volcano of Fire

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen hold children from the Monroy Barrera family who lost their home in the eruption of the Volcano of Fire

The user added that the Second Lady's attire was 'so inappropriate next to the Queen of Jordan who looks classy and understated.'

Another responded: 'I agree! The dress is too short and tight for her.'

But her attire on Thursday's visit to Guatemala was also a stark contrast to the controversial outfit Melania Trump donned when heading to visit the border town of McAllen, Texas, where migrant children were separated from their parents as a result of her husband's hard-line immigration policies.

The First Lady's trip last week was overshadowed by a jacket that had a baffling message on the back: 'I really don't care, do u?'

On Thursday, Melania made a second visit to a border state, first meeting with officials at a Border Control facility in Tucson, Arizona, this time in a risk-averse ensemble of a black sweater and white slacks.

Karen Pence was slammed on social media for wearing a 'too short and tight' dress to meet with King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan on Monday

Karen Pence was slammed on social media for wearing a 'too short and tight' dress to meet with King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan on Monday

Vice president Mike Pence and his wife welcomed the royals to dinner at their residence in Washington, D.C. on Monday

Vice president Mike Pence and his wife welcomed the royals to dinner at their residence in Washington, D.C. on Monday

Social media users said Second Lady's attire was 'so inappropriate next to the Queen of Jordan who looks classy and understated'

Social media users said Second Lady's attire was 'so inappropriate next to the Queen of Jordan who looks classy and understated'

Thursday's visit to Guatemala saw the vice president telling the leaders three Central American countries to stem the tide of illegal migration to the United States.

Pence spoke after discussing immigration issues with Presidents Jimmy Morales of Guatemala, Salvador Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador and Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras.

The three Central American countries are the home nations of most of the migrants detained and separated in recent weeks amid Trump administration policies that led to the separations of more than 2,000 children.

'Tell your people that coming to the United States illegally will only result in a hard journey and a harder life,' Pence said after discussing immigration issues with them in a meeting in Guatemala City on Thursday.

He said: 'This exodus must end. It is a threat to the security to the United States, and just as we respect your borders and your sovereignty, we insist that you respect ours.' 

Vice President Mike Pence speaks with the father of the Monroy Barrera family who lost his home to the Volcano of Fire eruption, as he holds Barrera's daughter

Vice President Mike Pence speaks with the father of the Monroy Barrera family who lost his home to the Volcano of Fire eruption, as he holds Barrera's daughter

Meanwhile, Pence also said that the Trump administration 'will always welcome' immigrants who follow the rules in getting permission to enter the U.S.

But, Pence added, the U.S. is determined to act strongly against those who don't.

'In the last year alone, we welcomed more than 1.1 million legal immigrants into our country and our communities, including nearly 50,000 legal immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador last year,' he said.

Referring to the U.S. policies that led to the separation of children from their parents, many of them from Central America, Pence noted President Donald Trump has reversed that approach.

Ceren said one of his ministers had confirmed that the minors in the shelters had their basic needs covered.

The First Lady's trip to a border state last week was overshadowed by a jacket that had a baffling message on the back: 'I really don't care, do u?' 

The First Lady's trip to a border state last week was overshadowed by a jacket that had a baffling message on the back: 'I really don't care, do u?' 

Melania met with officials at a Border Control facility in Tucson, Arizona in a risk-averse ensemble of a black sweater and white slacks

Melania met with officials at a Border Control facility in Tucson, Arizona in a risk-averse ensemble of a black sweater and white slacks

But he emphasized that 'it's vital for their psychological health and their emotional health to reunite them immediately with their families.'

Honduras' president said it is essential for his government to tackle the roots of migration and insecurity in a way that is not only good for the US but good of the people of the Central American countries.

It comes after Guatemala asked the US government to give its migrants Temporary Protected Status after the devastating Fuego volcano, located about 22 miles southwest of the capital, erupted on June 3, killing 112 people and leaving many more displaced or missing.

Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel said later that she sent a note to Trump's administration making the request 'in favor of our migrant brothers.'

The goal is 'to benefit (undocumented) nationals who live ... in the United States with a work permit to avoid their deportation,' she added.

Guatemala made its bid for TPS after Washington recently announced it was cancelling the benefit for El Salvador and Honduras as of 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Vice President Pence has told the leaders three Central American countries to stem the tide of illegal migration to the United States during a press conference at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City

Vice President Pence has told the leaders three Central American countries to stem the tide of illegal migration to the United States during a press conference at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City

From left, El Salvador's President Salvador Sanchez, US Vice President Mike Pence, Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales and Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez

From left, El Salvador's President Salvador Sanchez, US Vice President Mike Pence, Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales and Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen prepares for a meeting on immigration issues between US Vice President Mike Pence and three Central American presidents 

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen prepares for a meeting on immigration issues between US Vice President Mike Pence and three Central American presidents 

TPS, which grants temporary residence and work benefits to immigrants, was granted to Salvadorans after two earthquakes that devastated much of the country in January and February 2001. Honduras has had it for years after a hurricane.

The Guatemalan National Migrant Assistance Council estimates that about 1.5 million Guatemalans live in the United States and only between 300,000 and 400,000 have legal residence.

Earlier on Thursday, Pence was in Ecuador, whose leader he praised for improving relations with the US.

He also urged President Lenin Moreno to hold a firm line against neighboring Venezuela, which has been crumbling in economic and political crisis.

'The Ecuadorean people have shown remarkable compassion,' Pence said, noting that 350,000 Venezuelans have fled to Ecuador, a country of a little more than 16 million people.

'We must all take strong action to restore democracy in Venezuela.'

Mike Pence, center, walks with his wife Karen as they are escorted by Guatemala's Vice Foreign Minister Pablo Cesar Garcia Saenz, upon arrival to an air force base in Guatemala City

Mike Pence, center, walks with his wife Karen as they are escorted by Guatemala's Vice Foreign Minister Pablo Cesar Garcia Saenz, upon arrival to an air force base in Guatemala City

Mike Pence, left, stands up next to the Ecuador President Lenin Moreno, after the delivery of final statements at government palace in Quito, Ecuador

Mike Pence, left, stands up next to the Ecuador President Lenin Moreno, after the delivery of final statements at government palace in Quito, Ecuador

Moreno said a solution to the Venezuela's crisis is ultimately up to its own people, but added that he and Pence agreed to work together in coordination with the Organization of American States to promote citizen rights and fundamental freedoms throughout Latin America.

Winning back trade privileges rejected by Ecuador's former president, Rafael Correa, were a central part of the talks for Moreno.

He was elected last year with Correa's backing but has since broken with his mentor in adopting a more business- and press-friendly stance that has earned him bipartisan praise in Washington as something of a bridge builder in ideologically polarized Latin America.

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno, right, shakes hand with Vice President Mike Pence at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Thursday

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno, right, shakes hand with Vice President Mike Pence at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Thursday

Pence said relations have improved under Moreno's leadership and noted their shared fight against international drug traffickers. He credited the new president with reversing a decade of failed policy and rooting out corruption.

During their private meeting, Pence raised the issue of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who Ecuador has granted asylum, U.S. officials said.

Assange, whose leak of classified US documents infuriated US government officials, has been a sticking point between the two nations.

He has been living under asylum inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012.

Pence and Moreno did not mention Assange in their public comments.

 

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