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Jimmy Williams
Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped a key question during a Univision town hall on Thursday about how she would manage the U.S. border differently from President Joe Biden, instead using the opportunity to emphasize her experience as California’s top law enforcement officer and redirecting her response toward attacking former President Donald Trump’s policies.
“Let me start with this, perhaps what distinguishes me from at least a couple of people: I was the top law enforcement officer of the biggest state in this country, California, that is also a border state,” Harris said. “I have taken on transnational criminal organizations that traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings, and I have prosecuted them.”
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, pivoted quickly to criticize Trump after stating her qualifications. She accused Trump of blocking immigration reform, referencing a 2021 bill that would have added 1,500 more border agents but failed after Trump’s intervention. “Except Donald Trump got in the way of that bill,” Harris told the audience.
Her comments come after Trump’s campaign seized on a recent appearance on ABC’s “The View,” where Harris struggled to specify what she would do differently from Biden. Trump’s team used those remarks in a campaign video, interspersed with clips about the Biden administration’s handling of border issues and crime.
Harris also reiterated her desire to pass immigration reform if elected. “I will sign it into law and do the work of focusing on what we must do to have an orderly and humane pathway to earn citizenship for hard-working people,” she said, adding that it is possible to secure the border while addressing immigration reform.
Though Harris did not offer significant new policies during the town hall, she has previously outlined her intent to increase Justice Department resources to combat drug cartels and tighten asylum restrictions beyond Biden’s current policies.
Harris’s town hall appearance, moderated by journalist Enrique Acevedo, marked the latest stop in her recent media tour as the 2024 election approaches, with Nevada emerging as a key battleground state.
