Democrats are lining up to defend Vice President Kamala Harris‘ record on immigration amid an onslaught of attacks by Republicans.
Texas state senator Sarah Eckhardt has launched a scathing attack on Republican lawmakers over the U.S.-Mexico border. Eckhardt, who represents Texas’ 14th district hit out at the GOP for putting “politics above good policy.”
“Posing for the cameras behind $11 billion dollars in walls, razor wire, guns, and hate-filled anti-immigrant rhetoric,” she added.
“VP Harris has served as a part of the most successful administration in modern history… she sought policy solutions to address the root causes of increased immigration, pursuing meaningful bi-partisan legislation and diplomatic collaboration with our southern neighbors,” she said.
A recent poll by Gallup suggests that for the first time since 2005 more than half of Americans want less immigration, indicating a shift in attitudes and bi-partisan support for greater border security.
Harris’s immigration policies have come under the spotlight as GOP lawmakers circle the presumptive Democrat nominee, branding her a “border czar” and blaming her for what they regard as the failure of the Biden administration.
A YouGov poll published on 22 July shows Trump is seen as better than Harris at handling immigration (+15).
The 84,000 border apprehensions seen in June is nearly double the average of monthly apprehensions during the Trump administration, which amounted to roughly 45,000 between January 2017 and February 2020.
So is Kamala Harris the “border czar” or a key player in the “most successful administration in modern history”? Newsweek breaks down her record on immigration.
Harris as District Attorney and Attorney General
The California Democrat’s career began in the prosecutor’s offices in the late 1980s before she became San Francisco’s District Attorney in 2004.
As the top prosecutor in the city, she focused primarily on criminal justice reform and was known for her “smart on crime” philosophy.
Harris’s views on immigration have shifted since she entered politics. In 2008, she supported legislation pushed by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom that reported young undocumented immigrants to federal immigration officials if they were arrested by local police, but before they had been convicted of a crime.
In 2011, Harris became California’s Attorney General. In this role, she was more directly involved in immigration issues.
One of the notable policies implemented during her tenure was the “Back on Track” program, aimed at first-time, non-violent offenders.
The initiative provided educational and employment opportunities instead of incarceration.
“Shutting the revolving door of the criminal justice system requires innovative, results-driven policies and initiatives that help offenders get their lives back on track,” Harris said in 2016.
Harris opposed President Barack Obama‘s Secure Communities program, which allowed local law enforcement to share fingerprints of detainees with immigration authorities, leading to increased deportations.
Harris argued that Secure Communities eroded trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities
In 2014, then-AG Harris advised local police and sheriff’s departments, in the form of a bulletin, that they did not have to comply with ICE detainer requests.
“Federal immigration detainers are voluntary and this bulletin supports the TRUST Act and law enforcement leaders’ discretion to utilize resources in a manner that best serves their communities,” Harris said in a news release that announced the bulletin.
Her office also published a guide to help immigrants understand their rights and navigate the legal system, emphasizing her commitment to protecting immigrant communities.
Harris as California Senator
Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016. As a senator, she co-sponsored the Dream Act, which aimed to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
However, the Trump administration rescinded the program in 2017, while pushing Congress to enact a replacement to the legislation.
Harris was vocal about the need for comprehensive immigration reform and often highlighted the contributions of immigrants to American society.
During the Trump administration,Harris was a fierce critic of policies such as the travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries and the family separation policy at the border.
During her failed presidential bid in 2020, she attacked Trump’s flagship border wall policy and described it as a “medieval vanity project.”
Governor Tate Reeves attacked Harris’s record as a senator and said she is “not fit” to serve: “Focus on her record. She is the most liberal US Senator and comes from California’s political machine.”
Harris as Vice President
In March 2021, Biden tasked Harris with addressing the “root cause” of migration to the U.S.
“She’s the most qualified person to do it,” Biden said of his vice president at the time. “To lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help — in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border.”
Harris did secure $4.2 billion in private-sector investments for employment opportunities in Central America. It was intended to stifle the flow of migrants out of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This was overshadowed by a widely panned trip to Central America, in which she urged migrants not to attempt to cross into the U.S.
“Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders,” Harris said in a speech from Guatemala.
Harris infuriated left-wing progressive within the Democratic Party, and was mocked by Republicans.
During a visit to the U.S.-Mexic border, she said, “This issue cannot be reduced to a political issue. We’re talking about children; we’re talking about families; we are talking about suffering.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott attacked Harris over immigration policies in 2022 and said: “Biden & “Border Czar” Harris refuse to acknowledge the consequences of their open border policies. Texas is bringing the border to their backyard to relieve our overwhelmed communities. It’s past time to fix this crisis they created.
In the three-and-a-half years since illegal immigration has soared. Harris, while not the “border czar” that Republicans framed her as will face withering critiques about her immigration policies.
She supported Biden’s bipartisan border security deal earlier this year before it was impeded by Trump after he urged congressional Republicans to kill the bill.
GOP lawmakers swiftly called out Harris for her apparent lack of action on the U.S.-Mexico border after she was endorsed by President Biden following his decision to withdraw from the race for the White House.
The GOP has repeatedly criticized Harris and claimed she was Biden’s “Borden Czar.” However, she was only assigned to curbing migration from three countries.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
