Republicans plan to attack Kamala Harris as Biden’s ‘border czar’ overseeing ‘catastrophic open border’
Now that Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race en masse, Republicans are focusing their attacks on Kamala Harris’s handling of the “catastrophic crisis of open borders.”
Biden’s shock withdrawal from the 2024 election has created a power vacuum that is expected to be filled by Harris, whom he endorsed shortly after leaving office.
But the vice president’s grip on the party’s nomination is far from cemented, as many leaders within the Democratic Party have yet to come out in favor of her.
Seeing her as the biggest threat for now, Republicans are focusing their attacks on Harris, who in 2021 was infamously tasked with curbing illegal immigration as Biden’s “border czar.”
Since Biden and Harris took office, illegal immigration to the U.S. has exploded to over 8 million people, and is expected to reach 10 million by the end of September.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is introducing a resolution Monday “condemning Kamala Harris’ role as Joe Biden’s ‘border czar,’ which has led to the most catastrophic open borders crisis in history.”
Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked with handling immigration and border-related issues for the Biden administration in March 2021. Under her watch, the U.S. has seen consecutive years of record-breaking illegal immigration
“Biden’s open borders czar Kamala Harris and every elected Democrat are responsible for this border crisis,” she continued.
Stefanik, a top Republican in the House of Representatives, is expected to introduce a resolution condemning Harris’s handling of the border around 2 p.m. ET on Monday.
Harris was given the thankless task of managing the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration in March 2021.
“I asked her, the vice president, today — because she is the most qualified person to do so — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that are helping — are going to need help to stem the movement of so many people, stem the migration to our southern border,” Biden said during a White House migration meeting on March 24, 2021.
Since then, illegal immigration to the US has broken records every year under her leadership.
It is estimated that at least 3.7 million migrants have entered and settled in the country illegally during Biden’s presidency and Harris’ tenure as “border czar.”
To top it all off, recent reports from NewsNation indicate that despite being appointed by President Biden to oversee immigration, Harris has never spoken to top Border Patrol officials.
According to the outlet, Harris has not spoken to Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, who has held the position for the past year.
Owens’ predecessor, retired Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, revealed in March that he had “not had a single conversation” with Harris in his two years at the helm of the agency.
Migrants walk along the border fence after crossing from Mexico into the U.S. in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, on June 14, 2024
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens reportedly never spoke to ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris
Harris’ role in securing the country’s borders is also likely to resonate with voters, as it has consistently been a top issue among voters in the run-up to the November election.
A Harvard Harris poll from late March found that voters were most concerned about immigration, more so than inflation or the economy.
Another poll in June found that a majority of Americans (62 percent) supported mass deportations to remove recently arrived migrants.
Despite public opinion calling for stricter immigration standards, the vice president has long taken a progressive approach to the issue.
“An illegal immigrant is not a criminal,” she posted on X in 2017.
“It’s ridiculous to say we’re going to deport 12 million people. How are you going to do that?” she posted in a similar vein.
During her time as vice president and “border czar,” Harris has visited the U.S.-Mexico border only once.
She did so in June 2021 after a controversial interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, in which she claimed, “We’ve been to the border,” to which Holt bluntly responded, “You haven’t been to the border.”
“…and I’ve never been to Europe,” Harris joked to Holt at the time.
Two weeks later, Harris and her team visited El Paso.
Migrants sit by fires to warm up as they wait for U.S. Border Patrol agents to pick them up and process them
Migrants await processing by U.S. Border Patrol agents after entering the U.S. from Mexico
And Trump’s team is also criticizing Harris for her handling of the border.
“Joe Biden is the worst president I’ve ever had and Kamala Harris has been with him every step of the way,” Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), posted on X on Sunday.
“Over the past four years, she has co-signed Biden’s open borders and green fraud policies that have increased the cost of housing and groceries.”
“She is the culprit for all of these failures, and she has lied about Biden’s mental capacity for nearly four years, leaving the nation with a president who is ill-equipped to do the job,” Vance continued.