Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSROOM | Republican LeaderSkip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELL×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELLxxsearchxMENUFacebookTwitterInstagramFacebookTwitterInstagramVisit Senator McConnell's site here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELLxxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board07.30.24Kamala Harris Utterly Failed To Address The Border Crisis Her Administration CreatedPresident Joe Biden And Vice President Kamala Harris Entered Office And Immediately Dismantled Tough Border Enforcement Policies, Adhering To Harris’ Advocacy Of Even More Lax Enforcement, And The Results Were A Predictably Disastrous Crisis On The Southern BorderVice President Harris Was Tasked By President Biden ‘To Lead Efforts To Stem Migration Across The U.S.-Mexico Border’THE WASHINGTON POST: ‘Biden taps Harris to handle border crisis’ (The Washington Post, 3/24/2021)AXIOS: ‘Biden puts Harris in charge of border crisis’ (Axios, 3/24/2021)NBC NEWS: ‘Biden tasks Harris with ‘stemming the migration’ on southern border’ (NBC News, 3/24/2021)“President Biden on Wednesday tapped Vice President Harris to oversee efforts to slow the rush of migrants to the southern border, handing her a high-profile and politically fraught assignment amid fresh concerns from lawmakers and activists about the growing crisis.” (“Biden Taps Harris To Handle Border Crisis,” The Washington Post, 3/24/2021)· “President Biden is putting Vice President Harris in charge of addressing the migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, senior administration officials announced on Wednesday.” (“Biden Puts Harris In Charge Of Border Crisis,” Axios, 3/24/2021)· “President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts to stem migration across the U.S.-Mexico border, as the administration faces growing political pressure to address a surge in undocumented migrant children unaccompanied by parents.” (“Biden Tasks Harris With ‘Stemming The Migration’ On Southern Border,” NBC News, 3/24/2021)“Biden called Harris ‘the most qualified person’ to lead the U.S. dialogue with Mexico and Central American countries ‘that are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks.’” (“Biden Taps Harris To Handle Border Crisis,” The Washington Post, 3/24/2021)Biden: ‘She Is Leading The Effort’“‘It’s not her full-responsibility job, but she is leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who, when he or she speaks, they don’t have to wonder about, is that where the president is,’ Biden said. ‘When she speaks, she speaks for me.’” (“Biden Taps Harris To Handle Border Crisis,” The Washington Post, 3/24/2021)“‘President Biden said during the transition, whatever the most urgent need, he would turn to the vice president,’ one of the three officials briefing reporters said, ‘and today he is turning to the vice president.’” (“Biden Puts Harris In Charge Of Border Crisis,” Axios, 3/24/2021)· “For Harris, the assignment gives her the first big opportunity to step to the front of the stage on a matter of enormous consequence for the administration.” (“Biden Taps VP Harris To Lead Response To Border Challenges,” The Associated Press, 3/24/2021)‘Harris’ Role Would Focus On “Two Tracks”: Both Curbing The Current Flow Of Migrants And Implementing A Long-Term Strategy That Addresses The Root Causes Of Migration’“A senior administration official said Harris’ role would focus on ‘two tracks’: both curbing the current flow of migrants and implementing a long-term strategy that addresses the root causes of migration. Cabinet members, including the secretary of state, are expected to work closely with Harris on these issues.” (“Biden Tasks Harris With ‘Stemming The Migration’ On Southern Border,” NBC News, 3/24/2021)· “Harris will have two overarching goals in her new role, according to senior administration officials: She will be working to stem the flow of migrants and she will seek to establish a strategic partnership with Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The latter three are often called the Northern Triangle countries.” (“Biden Taps Harris To Handle Border Crisis,” The Washington Post, 3/24/2021)Despite The Vice President’s Assignment To Address A Surge In Illegal Immigration And Pledges To Visit The Border, It Took Months Of Prodding For Harris To Actually Do SoMARCH 24, 2021: “In an interview with CBS earlier Wednesday, Harris said that she and Biden would ‘absolutely’ visit the border sometime soon. … ‘Look, we’ve been in office less than 100 days. We are addressing it. We’re dealing with it. But it’s going to take some time.’ Harris said. ‘And are we frustrated? Are you frustrated? Yes. We are.’” (“Biden Tasks Harris With ‘Stemming The Migration’ On Southern Border,” NBC News, 3/24/2021)JUNE 8, 2021: VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: “At some point, you know, we are going to the border … We’ve been to the border. So this whole, this whole, this whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border. We’ve been to the border.”NBC’s LESTER HOLT: “You haven’t been to the border.” HARRIS: “I, and I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t – I don’t understand the point that you’re making … I’m not discounting the importance of the border.” (Interview On NBC News, 6/08/2021)“Vice President Kamala Harris endured a rocky first foreign trip since taking office, with sources telling CNN her two-day swing through Mexico and Guatemala left some administration officials quietly perplexed about what they perceive as her bumpy answers to questions about whether she will go to the US-Mexico border. Several sources say there was a real hope inside the White House that Harris’ first trip abroad would be a success, and worry that what looked like ill-prepared answers to that inevitable question would overshadow it.” (“Administration Officials Perplexed By Harris’ Border Answer And Worry It Will Overshadow Her Trip,” CNN, 6/08/2021)JUNE 25, 2021: “Vice President Kamala Harris visited the southern border in El Paso, Texas, on Friday to see a migrant processing center, following dogged criticism for not having visited the US-Mexico border and a rocky first foreign trip to Guatemala and Mexico earlier this month. The vice president toured the El Paso central processing center, a US Customs and Border Protection facility, and spoke with five young girls from Central America while there.” (“Kamala Harris Makes Her First Visit To The US-Mexico Border As Vice President,” CNN, 6/25/2021)· “The visit to El Paso came amid a smattering of criticism that’s followed Harris since being tasked by President Joe Biden with leading diplomatic efforts in the Northern Triangle to address immigration.” (“Kamala Harris Makes Her First Visit To The US-Mexico Border As Vice President,” CNN, 6/25/2021) Under Kamala Harris’ Stewardship Of The Border, Illegal Crossings Exploded To ‘The Highest Levels In [CBP’s] 100-Year History’“The management of the US-Mexico border has been a political liability for Biden, and it will now follow Harris...” (“Harris’ Immigration Work Comes Under Scrutiny As Campaign Takes Shape,” CNN, 7/24/2024)· “Over the last three years, an unprecedented number of border crossings have come to define the administration’s immigration record ...” (“Harris’ Immigration Work Comes Under Scrutiny As Campaign Takes Shape,” CNN, 7/24/2024)‘The Number Of People Taken Into Custody By The U.S. Border Patrol Has Reached The Highest Levels In The Agency’s 100-Year History Under Biden’“The number of people taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol has reached the highest levels in the agency’s 100-year history under Biden, averaging 2 million per year.” (“Trump Vs. Biden On Immigration: 12 Charts Comparing U.S. Border Security,” The Washington Post, 2/12/2024)· “Arrests for illegal crossings topped 2 million for the first time each of the U.S. government’s last two budget years …” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)‘Illegal Border Crossings Soared In The Months After Biden [And Harris] Took Office And Rolled Back Many Trump-Era Restrictions“Illegal border crossings soared in the months after Biden took office and rolled back many Trump-era restrictions. Biden warned that he would still enforce immigration laws, and he temporarily kept in place a Trump pandemic policy known as Title 42 that allowed authorities to quickly expel border crossers. Once his administration announced it would not use the Title 42 policy to turn back unaccompanied minors who arrived without a parent or guardian, their numbers spiked.” (“Trump vs. Biden On Immigration: 12 Charts Comparing U.S. Border Security,” The Washington Post, 7/28/2024)· “Harris’ idea of looser enforcement eventually made its way to the White House, with Biden announcing in September 2021 that the U.S. would break from the aggressive approach to deportations of the Trump administration and instead only prioritize removing migrants who were deemed to pose a threat to public safety, according to an Associated Press report.” (“Harris Failed To Combat ‘Root Causes’ Of Illegal Immigration, Former Border Patrol Union Chief Says,” Fox News, 7/26/2024)Nearly 10 Million Illegal Aliens Have Been Encountered Attempting To Enter The United States On Vice President Harris’ Watch And More Than 3.3 Million Have Been Released Into The U.S.Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recorded over 9.9 million nationwide encounters with aliens illegally entering the United States. (“Nationwide Encounters,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Website, 7/15/2024)· Over 8.1 million of those encounters were along the Southwest Land Border. (“Southwest Land Border Encounters,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Website, 7/15/2024)“The Biden administration has released more than 3.3 million border crossers into the United States since 2021.” (“Trump vs. Biden On Immigration: 12 Charts Comparing U.S. Border Security,” The Washington Post, 7/28/2024)These Staggering Numbers Include Record Numbers Of Encounters For A Single Month And A Single Day In December 2023“The besieged U.S. southern border saw a record number of migrant encounters in a single day on Monday, as thousands flooded into Eagle Pass, Texas, amid a broader surge in recent weeks that has left authorities overwhelmed. There were over 12,600 migrant encounters on [December 18th], Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox.” (“Southern Border Hit By Record Number Of Migrant Encounters In A Single Day As Thousands Flood Into Texas,” Fox News, 12/19/2023)“The U.S. southern border saw its highest rate of illegal migrant encounters [in December 2023], blowing away previous statistics. Sources with Customs and Border Protection told Fox News Digital that migrant encounters hit a staggering 300,000 incidents in the last month of 2023, reaching a level thought unimaginable just years ago. Between Dec. 1 and December 31, more than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the U.S. southern border. It is the highest total for a single month ever recorded. It is also the first time migrant encounters have exceeded 300,000.” (“Migrant Encounters At Southern Border Hit Record 302K In December, Sources Say,” Fox News, 1/01/2024)· “The current spike in migration peaked before Christmas, during the week starting on Dec. 14 and ending on Dec. 20, when Border Patrol averaged 9,773 daily apprehensions, according to the data. On several days that week, the agency processed more than 10,000 migrants in 24 hours.” (“Migrant Crossings At U.S. Southern Border Reach Record Monthly High In December,” CBS News, 12/28/2023)Known Gotaways ‘Have *Exploded* Under The Biden Admin’: Over 1.6 Million In Three Years “Internal CBP data I obtained via FOIA request reveals 13 years of known gotaways data at the border, showing gotaways have *exploded* under the Biden admin compared to the Trump & Obama years. This is the first time these numbers have ever been revealed.” (Fox News’ Bill Melugin, @BillMelugin_, Twitter, 5/15/2024)“For perspective, in the decade of FY 2010 through FY 2020 under both Obama & Trump, CBP recorded over 1.4 million known gotaways. In the three years of FY 2021 through FY 2023, CBP recorded over 1.6 million known gotaways.” (Fox News’ Bill Melugin, @BillMelugin_, Twitter, 5/15/2024)Hundreds Of Individuals On The Terrorist Watchlist Were Encountered Attempting To Enter The United States Over The Last Two YearsFrom the beginning of Fiscal Year 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 1,209 individuals on the terrorist watchlist attempting to enter the United States at land border ports of entry. (“CBP Enforcement Statistics,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Website, 7/15/2024)· During that same time period, CBP encountered another 364 foreign individuals on the terrorist watchlist attempting to enter the United States between ports of entry. (“CBP Enforcement Statistics,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Website, 7/15/2024)Meanwhile, Deportations Of Migrants Arrested By ICE Fell Over The Last 3 Years“On Biden’s first day in office, his administration ordered a pause on most arrests and deportations from the interior of the United States by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…. Deportations of migrants arrested by ICE averaged about 80,000 annually during Trump’s term. Biden’s Department of Homeland Security issued new guidelines to ICE officers in 2021 … Deportations of migrants arrested by ICE have fallen to about 35,000 per year since Biden took office.” (“Trump vs. Biden On Immigration: 12 Charts Comparing U.S. Border Security,” The Washington Post, 7/28/2024) During Her Time In Charge Of The Border Crisis, Harris Did Little While Absurdly Claiming, ‘We Have A Secure Border’‘I Would Ask What Has She Done’“The Border Patrol union says Harris did not deliver on any of her immigration-related assignments.” (“Biden Asked Harris To Tackle The ‘Root Causes’ Of Migration. Here’s What Happened After That.” NBC News, 7/25/2024)“When Harris’ name is mentioned at the border, ‘it’s a lot of eye rolls,’ said Jon Anfinsen, national executive vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, the Border Patrol union.” (“Biden Asked Harris To Tackle The ‘Root Causes’ Of Migration. Here’s What Happened After That.” NBC News, 7/25/2024)· “‘I would ask what has she done in terms of solving the root causes. This has been a goal of hers for this many years. What’s changed? I would argue it’s not improved; it has only gotten worse,’ Anfinsen said. ‘Shortly around that period of time, it kind of just went away, and you didn’t hear it.’” (“Biden Asked Harris To Tackle The ‘Root Causes’ Of Migration. Here’s What Happened After That.” NBC News, 7/25/2024)“Harris has only occasionally talked about her efforts as the situation along the US-Mexico border became a political vulnerability for Biden.” (“Harris’ Immigration Work Comes Under Scrutiny As Campaign Takes Shape,” CNN, 7/24/2024)Harris Made Only Two Trips To Central America Since Being Tasked With Addressing The Border Crisis“An NBC News review found that her travel to address root issues in the region was largely limited to June 2021, with one trip to the border in El Paso, Texas, and another to Mexico and Guatemala. She made one additional trip to Honduras in January 2022.” (“Biden Asked Harris To Tackle The ‘Root Causes’ Of Migration. Here’s What Happened After That.” NBC News, 7/25/2024)“Since 2021, however, the Root Causes Strategy has made no new commitments, despite Mexican pleas for more direct investment from the U.S., not just from U.S. companies.” (“Biden Asked Harris To Tackle The ‘Root Causes’ Of Migration. Here’s What Happened After That.” NBC News, 7/25/2024)“[S]he was criticized as showing tepid interest in the issue and for visiting Latin America just twice…. ‘It was promising at first, but then disappointing,’ said a Mexican official who met with Harris in 2021 when she and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed an agreement to forge new development programs in Central America. Harris grew distant after the summit and stopped attending meetings, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity: ‘She quit.’” (“Kamala Harris Spent Her Political Career Supporting Immigrants. As Vice President, It Got More Complicated,” Los Angeles Times, 7/26/2024)Yet Harris Insisted, ‘We Have A Secure Border’NBC’s CHUCK TODD: “Since we’re here in Texas, I want to ask you about the border. Would you call the border secure?”VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: “I think that there is no question that we have to do what the president and I asked Congress to do, the first request we made: pass a bill to create a pathway to citizenship. The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system, in particular, over the last four years before we came in, and it needs to be fixed.”TODD: “We’re going to have two million people cross this border for the first time ever. You’re confident this border’s secure?”HARRIS: “We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration. But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix given the deterioration that happened over the last four years. We also have to put into place a law and a plan for a pathway for citizenship for the millions of people who are here and are prepared to do what is legally required to gain citizenship.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 9/11/2022) Harris Previously Advocated For Even More Extreme Border Positions, Including Dismantling ICE, Halting Deportations, And Decriminalizing Illegal Border Crossings Altogether“As [Harris] campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination ahead of the 2020 election, she was firmly to the left of Biden and many of her rivals on immigration issues.” (“Kamala Harris Spent Her Political Career Supporting Immigrants. As Vice President, It Got More Complicated,” Los Angeles Times, 7/26/2024)Harris Not Only Advocated ‘Starting From Scratch’ By Abolishing ICE, She Outrageously Compared The Agency To The KlanTHEN- SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): “I think there’s no question that we’ve got to critically reexamine ICE and its role and the way that it is being administered and the work it is doing, and we need to probably think about starting from scratch.” (“Calls To Abolish ICE Are Splintering The Democratic Party,” BuzzFeed News, 7/02/2018)· “Sen. Kamala Harris just put Democrats on the spot with a challenging question: What should be done about ICE? The California Democrat, a possible 2020 presidential candidate, said she is so frustrated with how federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement treats migrants that the government should consider ‘starting from scratch’ with an undefined overhaul of the 15-year-old agency…. It’s about as far as any prominent Democrat has gone in reaction to a year-and-a-half’s worth of Trump administration efforts to limit legal and illegal immigration …” (“Kamala Harris Out Front On New Litmus Test For Dems: What To Do About ICE?,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/25/2018)· “Harris was one of the leading Senate critics of ICE even before the ‘zero tolerance’ tactics began dominating the news this month. In May, she and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., introduced legislation calling for a moratorium on new ICE detention facilities. In March, Harris called for a decrease in funding for ICE, and in December, she grilled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen about whether the agency would target young undocumented immigrants temporarily protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Calling for an ICE reboot, however, is a leap ahead.” (“Kamala Harris Out Front On New Litmus Test For Dems: What To Do About ICE?,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/25/2018)ACTING DIRECTOR AT U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT RONALD VITIELLO: “Well, the Klan was -- what we would call today, a domestic terrorist group.”THEN-SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: “Why? Why would they call them domestic terrorist group?”VITIELLO: “Because they tried to use fear and force to change political environment.”HARRIS: “And what was the motivation for the use of fear and force?”VITIELLO: “Based on race and ethnicity.”HARRIS: “Right. Are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and the discretion that ICE is being used to enforce the laws and do you see any parallels?”VITIELLO: “I do not see any parallels between officers and agents.” (Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing, 11/15/2018)“Sen. Kamala Harris compared ICE, the federal deportation agency, to the Ku Klux Klan Thursday, drawing a fierce retort from the agency’s acting director who said there is no equivalence between patriotic officers enforcing the law, and a racist mob bent on violence and intimidation.” (“Kamala Harris Draws Comparison Between ICE And KKK,” The Washington Times, 11/15/2018)· “The exchange came as Ronald D. Vitiello, the acting director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which is considering his nomination to become permanent ICE director. Mr. Vitiello chided sanctuary cities for refusing to cooperate on deportations, promised to work on pay issues for ICE officers, and demanded respect for his employees who he said deserve not to be pilloried by politicians, the press or activists looking to score political points.” (“Kamala Harris Draws Comparison Between ICE And KKK,” The Washington Times, 11/15/2018)· “Minutes later Ms. Harris, a California Democrat who’s eyeing a 2020 presidential bid, said there are ‘many’ people who perceive ICE officers as similar to KKK thugs in using violence and intimidation.” (“Kamala Harris Draws Comparison Between ICE And KKK,” The Washington Times, 11/15/2018)Harris Advocated For Decriminalizing Illegal Border Crossings And Opposed Deportations“Harris raised her hand during the first Democratic debate when a moderator asked which candidates think crossing the border without documentation should be a civil offense rather than a crime.” (“Where 2020 Democrats Stand On Immigration,” The Washington Post, 4/08/2020)“Crossing the border without permission is a crime, but the law prohibiting it has often gone unenforced since it was passed in 1929. Instead, most first-time violators are deported under civil, not criminal, proceedings. But a debate is growing over whether the criminal law should be eliminated entirely…” (“Some Democrats Want To Decriminalize Illegal Border Crossings. Would It Work?” The New York Times, 7/31/2019)· “The proposal met with wide approval. Eight of the 10 candidates on stage raised their hands, including three who appeared to go on record backing the idea for the first time: Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), as well as former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.” (“2020 Democrats Overwhelmingly Back Decriminalizing Border Crossings In Thursday Debate,” The Huffington Post, 6/28/2019) HARRIS: “Let me just be very clear: we have to have a secure border. But I am in favor of saying that we’re not going to treat people who are undocumented [and] cross the borders as criminals, that is correct. … I would not make it punishable by jail … It should be a civil enforcement issue, but not a criminal enforcement issue.” (“Harris, Meghan McCain Spar Over Decriminalization Of Border Crossings,” The Hill, 7/12/2019)“California Attorney General Kamala Harris made waves this week after telling the San Francisco Chronicle that ‘an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.’” (“‘Undocumented Immigrant Not A Criminal,’ California Attorney General Says,” KCLA News, 4/17/2015)· “‘An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal,’ she reiterated. ‘I’m a career prosecutor. I’ve personally prosecuted everything from low-level offenses to homicides. Unfortunately, I know what crime looks like. I know what a criminal looks like who’s committing a crime. An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.’” (“‘Undocumented Immigrant Not A Criminal,’ California Attorney General Says,” KCLA News, 4/17/2015)· “In her first official speech as a U.S. senator in 2017, Harris railed against President Trump’s executive actions targeting immigrants. ‘I know what a crime looks like, and I will tell you: An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal,’ she said. ‘The truth is the vast majority of immigrants in this country are hardworking people who deserve a pathway to citizenship.’” (“Kamala Harris Spent Her Political Career Supporting Immigrants. As Vice President, It Got More Complicated,” Los Angeles Times, 7/26/2024)NBC’s JOSE DIAZ-BALART: “Should someone who is here without documents, and that is his only offense, should that person be deported?”HARRIS: “I will say -- no, absolutely not, they should not be deported. And I actually -- this was one of the very few issues with which I disagreed with the [Obama] administration, with whom I always had a great relationship and a great deal of respect. But on the secure communities issue, I was attorney general of California. I led the second-largest Department of Justice in the United States, second only to the United States Department of Justice, in a state of 40 million people. And on this issue, I disagreed with my president, because the policy was to allow deportation of people who by ICE’s own definition were non-criminals. So as attorney general, and the chief law officer of the state of California, I issued a directive to the sheriffs of my state that they did not have to comply with detainers, and instead should make decisions based on the best interests of public safety of their community.” (“Full Transcript: 2019 Democratic Debate Night Two, Sortable By Topic,” NBC News, 6/28/2019)In The Senate, Harris Voted Repeatedly ‘To Shut Down The Government Over Dreamers,’ Leading Other Dem Presidential Hopefuls In Announcing The Hardline Position“Senate Democrats eyeing the 2020 presidential ticket have been consistent on one message for months: They’re willing to shut down the government over DREAMers. Since the fight over the lack of a long-term spending bill and immigration deal began in earnest in December, Democrats have tried to use what little political leverage they have to get a permanent fix for the sunsetting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program … even if it meant a government shutdown. But some politicians have been more consistent than others…. [A]mong some high-profile rumored 2020 contenders, there has been no debate. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) all voted against every recent spending bill because they have not seen a vote on an immigration fix. They did it again on Thursday night, joining a handful of other Democrats voting against a long-term spending bill.” (“Immigration Is Becoming A 2020 Litmus Test For Democrats,” Vox, 2/13/2018)· “Most of the 2020 Democratic names in the Senate signed on to this idea back in November [2017], saying they wanted a DACA fix by the end of 2017. Harris was the first, declaring in late October that she would not vote for any government funding bill unless Congress took action to protect DREAMers.” (“Immigration Is Becoming A 2020 Litmus Test For Democrats,” Vox, 2/13/2018)“The Senate Democrats’ hell-no caucus is saying hell yes to a shutdown showdown over Dreamers. Democrats have pressed Republicans to pass legislation by the end of the year to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants legal protections that President Donald Trump has vowed to end…. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) declared in a news conference last week that she wouldn’t vote for a spending package if the future of DACA was not resolved by then.” (“Liberal Senate Dems Embrace Shutdown Showdown Over Dreamers,” Politico, 11/03/0217)Harris Called A Border Wall A ‘Vanity Project,’ And Claimed That ‘To Suggest That We Have To Build A Wall Across Our Southern Border Because There Are Terrorists Who Are Trying To Invade The Country, It Couldn’t Be Farther From The Truth’HARRIS: “[T]he idea that we would have a president of the United States that vilifies immigrants, that wants to build what I call his vanity project, a multibillion dollar wall which, by the way, will never get built, is un- American. Deal with the problem. We have 11 million people here who need a pathway to citizenship. Be a leader on that.” (MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” 6/18/2019)HARRIS: “[T]his is a crisis of the President’s own making, to fulfil his own quest to build a vanity project called the wall. This is irresponsible, it’s the height of irresponsibility. For the commander-in-chief to suggest that we have to build a wall across our southern border because there are terrorists who are trying to invade the country, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. … We don’t need to build a wall. This is a crisis of his own making.” (WMUR’s “Close Up,” 2/18/2019)Harris Supported Sanctuary City Policies In San Francisco And California And Opposed Efforts To Rein Them In“When Harris became the district attorney of San Francisco in 2004, she quickly established herself as a supporter of immigrant rights…. She continued that bent as state attorney general, most notably opposing a Republican bill in Congress that would have withheld federal funding from California police who complied with the state’s sanctuary law that limited how long they could hold migrants for transfer to immigration custody.” (“Kamala Harris Spent Her Political Career Supporting Immigrants. As Vice President, It Got More Complicated,” Los Angeles Times, 7/26/2024)· “For about two decades before this, San Francisco had been a ‘sanctuary city,’ or one that limits cooperation with the federal government in enforcing immigration law, offering protections from deportation to undocumented residents…. Harris’ district attorney office continued to support San Francisco as a sanctuary city during that time.” (“What Is Kamala Harris’ Record On Immigration? She Has A Willingness To Adapt, Advocates Say,” The Sacramento Bee, 7/23/2024) ###SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTERRelated Issues: Law Enforcement, Immigration, Border Security, Homeland SecurityPrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER McCONNELLFacebookTwitterInstagram
