On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris embarks on a journey to the U.S.-Mexico frontier in Arizona, marking her first such trip since an El Paso visit in 2021. This comes shortly after her campaign was plagued by past instances of her handling the illegal immigration issue. The Border Patrol Union, together with her Republican challenger, the former President Trump, have consistently criticized Harris for her purported laxness on border security. Many Republicans perceive this aspect as Harris’s political vulnerability.
The National Border Patrol Council released a statement recently saying, ‘After a prolonged period of negligence and contributing towards the problem, Vice President Kamala is finally making her way to the border’. According to them, it’s a mere attempt from her part to tick a box and in essence, stands as an affront to the brave men and women risking their lives daily. The American public too, they argue, is not exempt from this insult. ‘Where was she all this time?’ they question.
In defense, Harris’s campaign highlights her previous career as a prosecutor who has fought transnational crime syndicates and argues that she is the optimal contender to safeguard the border. They point to her support for a bipartisan funding bill. However, Harris’s track record on immigration policy at the federal level is extensive.
From 2018 to 2019, during her tenure as a senator from California, Harris held more progressive views on immigration within the Democratic party. In 2018, she urged her Senate colleagues to refuse the Trump administration’s plea for increased funding for immigration detention facilities and Border Patrol officers. Harris, and other senators, drafted a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2018, appealing them to deny the President’s FY19 funding request for an ineffectual yet expensive border wall.
In their correspondence, they urged a decrease in funding for the administration’s haphazard immigration enforcement operations that were disrupting families and inflicting damage on the economy. Harris also cross-examined Ronald Vitiello, then-President Trump’s nominee for leading the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), about perceived parallels between ICE and the KKK, citing the fear and intimidation felt by immigrants, especially those hailing from Mexico and Central America.
Recently unearthed footage shows Harris leading a rally chant which goes, ‘Raise education standards, no more deportations’. In the 2019 presidential race, Harris threw her hat into the ring as a Democratic contender. Her campaign included a vow to enlarge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) via executive order. This act safeguards illegal immigrants who were brought over to U.S. minors from being deported.
Harris asserted that she will abrogate age limitations on applications and employ her authority to implement a ‘parole in place’ program, which will secure a pathway to citizenship for these illegal immigrants. Furthermore, Harris pledged to use executive orders to protect the parents of American citizens and green card holders from deportation if they were illegal immigrants. Her proposed plan was expected to shield over six million illegal immigrants from deportation.
Upon becoming Vice President in 2021, the administration promptly reversed several Trump-era policies and sought to temporarily halt deportations. Migrant numbers soared, and in March, Biden announced that Harris would be responsible for addressing the root causes driving migrants north, such as climate change, poverty, and violence. Media outlets and Republicans promptly labeled Harris as the ‘border czar’, a term subsequently adopted by the public. Despite objections from the White House, this label has remained associated with Harris and, to a lesser extent, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, characterizing them as representatives of the crisis.
After her appointment by Biden, with migratory numbers consistently breaking records, Harris instantly felt pressure to visit the border. Instead of heading to the border, however, she traveled to Mexico and Guatemala, conveying a firm message to migrants that sparked controversy among immigration activists. ‘Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders,’ she warned. Harris then faced increased demands to visit the U.S. border, finally giving in later that month with a visit to a processing center in El Paso, Texas, where she met with advocates and providers.
Throughout the remainder of 2021 and into 2022, Harris’s visibility was limited regarding her strategy to tackle the root causes, although the private sector continued to contribute to those efforts. In June 2022, she attended the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, where she discussed possible solutions with other leaders. Harris announced at the summit that private sector companies had committed $3.2 billion to the strategy. Regardless, she faced criticisms for stating that the border was secure amidst the ongoing crisis and widespread entries.
Harris’s sporadic appearances continued into 2023, coinciding with additional pledges made by companies towards her private investment scheme. Nevertheless, 2023 shattered previous records, with an unprecedented number of migrant encounters and several chaotic situations at the border. The fiscal year 2023 witnessed a record-breaking 2.4 million encounters, with nearly 250,000 encounters occurring in December alone.
In 2024, the White House continued to refute the ‘border czar’ theory. Still, Harris supported a bipartisan Senate agreement to allocate more funds to border security and curtail migrant cross-border movements. She also endorsed several executive orders issued by President Biden to put a cap on asylum seekers and forge a pathway for citizenship for illegal immigrants who are spouses of U.S. citizens. Throughout, Harris has attempted to present a tougher stance on border control than former President Trump.
As she prepares for her trip to Douglas, Arizona, Harris aims to demonstrate her readiness and superiority over Trump in handling the sensitive issue of immigration and the so-called southern border crisis, spotlighted by Republicans. ‘A comprehensive plan is the need of the hour,’ Harris stated in an MSNBC interview. ‘This includes necessary measures to reinforce our border and acknowledge that pathways for individuals to earn citizenship is not just a necessity but a reality we must address.’