Kamala Harris says a ‘pathway to citizenship’ will end Biden’s border crisis: VP blames Republicans for immigration problems and hope new package includes ‘equities’

Border attorney and Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that a path to citizenship is needed to end the migration crisis at the southern border — as Congress tries to hammer out a policy solution.

“There is no doubt that our immigration system is broken,” Harris said in an interview on CNN.

“So much so that the first bill we introduced after our inauguration was intended to fix the immigration system, and that included what we need to do to create a path to citizenship and to put the resources needed in the border stiches. But unfortunately, people on the other side of the aisle are playing politics with this issue.”

Biden tapped his vice president to take charge of the border shortly after becoming president. The White House later backtracked, saying Harris’ priorities were addressing the “root causes” of migration.

“The solution involves deploying resources at the border to do what we can to process people effectively, and enacting laws that actually allow for a meaningful, meaningful path to citizenship,” Harris said.

Her comments come as the Senate is embroiled in fraught discussions over a sweeping national security package that would include aid to Ukraine and Israel in exchange for border security provisions. The deal is unlikely to include a path to citizenship.

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has thrown cold water on the Senate deal by insisting that the House will accept nothing less than H.R. 2, his conference’s conservative House border bill. That bill is a nonstarter for Democrats.

“Harris has had three years to secure the border and stop the open flow of illegal immigrants into our country,” Johnson responded to the vice president’s comments in a statement on Tuesday.

“Yet, when asked about her solutions, she recommended that Congress grant a mass amnesty and spend taxpayer dollars processing—not stopping—more illegals. Her ‘solution’ is to spend billions more taxpayers’ money and fuel lawlessness and chaos.”

He continued, “This response from President Biden’s ‘border czar’ is precisely why the government cannot be trusted to solve the catastrophe of their own making. Their idea is to attract millions more aliens, cause more pain, and further compromise America’s national and economic security.”

Harris, despite being tapped by Biden to lead on the immigration issue, has not been seen in recent negotiations between the Senate and the White House.

Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas has been back and forth on Capitol Hill during the talks, as have other White House staff.

He is also separately involved in a Republican Party-led impeachment inquiry, which is expected to result in an impeachment vote next week.

About 500 Honduran and Venezuelan migrants begin the march towards the US border

About 300,000 migrants attempted to enter the U.S. through the U.S.-Mexico border in December

More than a million people have been allowed into the US under the Biden administration on parole alone, according to a new CBS report.

The vice president declined to comment on CNN on the status of the bipartisan talks.

“I will tell you that the negotiations that are happening now will hopefully be focused on solutions that are really focused on solving the problem,” Harris said.

Negotiations on the deal have been going on for months, with only murky details leaking to the public. The negotiators are believed to have been hanged for curbing the Biden administration’s use of parole to allow migrants into the country.

It comes at a time when the number of border crossings has reached previously unimaginable records. About 300,000 migrants attempted to enter the U.S. through the U.S.-Mexico border in December.

According to a new CBS report.