Vice President Kamala Harris and her team want to deny that she was ever responsible for the migration crisis at the southern border.
It comes as Republicans plan to make Harris’ role as Joe Biden’s “border czar” one of their main points of attack in her battle for the White House with Donald Trump.
As Democratic strategists try to improve Harris’ campaign, a government transparency organization has also removed a webpage that said she was the most liberal Democrat in the Senate.
Immigration and the border were Harris’ first major task as vice president. On Thursday, House Republicans passed a resolution condemning her leadership on the issue.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and U.S. President Joe Biden. On March 24, President Biden appointed Harris to lead on immigration with a focus on “root causes” of migration
A group of illegal immigrants climb over a fence near Eagle Pass, Texas
In March 2021, President Joe Biden and his administration were already grappling with an escalating immigration crisis.
Migrants flooded across the southern border, detention centers filled with unaccompanied minors, and stories of “kids in cages” began to enter the public consciousness.
Jen Psaki, The White House spokesperson at the time, repeatedly stressed that there was ‘no crisis’.
Republicans criticized Biden’s lack of enforcement and demanded that the president take the issue seriously and visit the border.
The White House felt that something had to be done, a signal to the public and the media that the president was addressing the problem.
To deflect criticism, Team Biden suggested Vice President Kamala Harris as a solution.
The president and vice president stood together in the State Dining Room of the White House as Biden announced he wanted Harris to lead the migrant crisis.
Her main goal, Biden said, was to lead diplomatic efforts with Mexico and Central American countries to address the “root causes” of migration.
“I can’t think of anyone better qualified to do this,” Biden said, referring to Harris’ record as California’s attorney general.
Biden noted that it was not an unfamiliar task, recalling that as vice president he had supported President Barack Obama and worked with leaders to stem migration at the southern border.
US Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two
US Vice President Kamala Harris (R) visits the US Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center in El Paso,
Migrants attempt to cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on February 29, 2024
But Biden knew he was throwing Harris into a leadership vacuum, as he had no interest in personally involving himself in a politically charged situation.
“I’ve given you a tough job,” Biden said, looking at Harris, who smiled wryly. “And you smile, but there’s no one better suited to run this for us.”
Republicans couldn’t believe Biden had given Harris the job of securing the border, and the vice president and her team were deeply outraged by what Biden’s staff had done to her politically.
While Harris tried to narrowly define her role in the crisis, the media rightly acknowledged what Biden did.
“Biden Makes Harris His Immigration Point of Contact Amid Border Surge,” read one headline Politics.
‘Biden picks Vice President Harris to lead response to border issues,’ Associated Press reports wrote.
“Biden Puts Harris in Charge of Border Crisis,” read the headline of an article by Axios.
For many, Harris’ first appearance on the subject was evidence that she was unprepared to deal with the crisis. She cited the program “Cheers” to clarify her position on migration.
“You know, to borrow a line from an old TV show, ‘Cheers,’ you know, ‘where everybody knows your name,’” she said, reciting words from the show’s theme song. She explained, “Most people don’t want to leave home.”
Republicans saw Harris’ weakness and began to highlight her shortcomings.
House Minority Representative Steve Scalise, Republican from Louisiana, put Harris’ face on a carton of milk and described her as “missing at the border.”
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the southern border during a meeting with President Joe Biden
US Vice President Kamala Harris walks with Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas and spokesman Symone Sanders
Migrants entering the United States on June 5, 2024
Biden didn’t help. After saddling Harris with the politically explosive issue, he used an event with congressional Democrats to say Harris would do “a great job.”
But the vice president wasn’t having it. She interrupted Biden to remind him that she was only addressing the “root causes” of migration.
Under continued pressure, Harris was sent to Guatemala to host an event about the crisis and to warn migrants not to come to the United States.
“Don’t come. Don’t come,” she said repeatedly. “The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders. I believe that if you come to our border, you will be turned away,” she said.
However, millions of migrants did not listen.
Harris also drew criticism after she bizarrely dismissed the idea of visiting the border during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.
Asked about the fact that she had not been to the border, she said: ‘…And I have not been to Europe. I don’t understand the point you are making.’
She laughed at the question.
Lester Holt asks Kamala Harris why she hasn’t visited the border, to which she replies: ‘And I haven’t been to Europe’
United States Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media
Vice President Kamala Harris and her team are now claiming that Harris was not the “border czar,” despite several attempts by the administration to get her to address the immigration issue
In September 2022, Harris was sent by the administration to discuss the issue on the program Meet the Press.
When host Chuck Todd asked Harris if she thought the border was secure, she replied, “We have a secure border in the sense that it’s a priority for every country, including ours and our government.”
Republicans said this was not true and repeatedly disputed her claim.
As Republicans mounted criticism of Harris and Biden for refusing to visit the border, the president’s team ultimately decided to send Harris to take some of the pressure off.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump visits the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, as seen from Piedras Negras, Mexico, February 29, 2024
US President Donald Trump visits the US-Mexico border fence in Otay Mesa, California on September 18, 2019
She visited the border in June 2021, days after former President Donald Trump planned a visit to highlight the administration’s shortcomings.
Harris said, “I’m glad I’m here. It was always the plan to come here.”
Trump declared victory.
He said: “After months of ignoring the crisis at the southern border, it is wonderful that Kamala Harris can finally see the enormous destruction and death they have caused.”