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Jimmy Williams
Vice President Kamala Harris announced new border restrictions during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, positioning herself as tougher on immigration than the Biden administration and directly challenging Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Harris’s proposal includes stricter thresholds for illegal border crossings and a longer timeframe to determine when the U.S. asylum system can reopen.
Harris’s proposed executive action would extend President Joe Biden’s current policy, which essentially closes the U.S. asylum system unless daily illegal border crossings stay below 1,500 for a week. Her plan would lower that threshold and extend the period required, though specific figures were not provided.
The proposal aims to highlight Harris’s commitment to border security, an area where she has faced significant political criticism, especially from Trump, who consistently scores higher marks among voters on this issue. The announcement was made during a visit to Douglas, Arizona, a key border community, where Harris underscored her support for a bipartisan border security bill blocked earlier this year.
“Donald Trump tanked it,” Harris said of the legislation, standing beside signs that read, “Border Security and Stability.” She criticized Trump for prioritizing political gain over solving immigration issues, adding, “The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games.”
Harris’s visit comes as she faces declining approval ratings on immigration compared to Trump, who has attacked her policies as too lenient. A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 44% of voters trust Trump more on immigration, compared to 33% for Harris.
As part of her proposal, Harris also emphasized her plan to add more resources at the border, including new fentanyl detection machines and increased support for law enforcement agencies. She stated that tackling the flow of fentanyl across the border would be a “top priority” of her presidency, and she pledged to hold China accountable for chemicals used in fentanyl production.
In her remarks, Harris reflected on her time as California attorney general, highlighting her experience prosecuting transnational gangs involved in drugs, human trafficking, and gun smuggling. She pledged to double the Department of Justice’s budget for extraditing and prosecuting transnational organizations.
The vice president’s stance represents a significant shift from her 2019 presidential campaign, during which she adopted a more welcoming approach to immigration. Harris acknowledged that it is possible to balance border security with creating a humane and orderly immigration system, declaring, “We can, and we must, do both.”
Trump, in response, criticized Harris’s border visit, arguing that the Biden administration could simply use executive powers to tighten immigration controls. “She should go back to the White House and tell the president to close the border,” Trump said.
Harris’s tougher stance signals an effort to reshape her image on immigration, addressing criticisms and portraying herself as a leader capable of delivering a more secure and managed border. As the election nears, Harris’s approach reflects the evolving political landscape and her attempt to appeal to voters concerned about border security while maintaining a commitment to humane immigration policies.
