Kamala has vowed to secure the border but Americans shouldn’t fall for it.
In recent years, Vice President Kamala Harris, during her tenure as a U.S. Senator, was an outspoken critic of efforts to bolster border security and immigration enforcement. In 2018, she spearheaded a coalition of Democratic senators in opposing increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and additional resources for Border Patrol agents and border wall construction.
Harris, alongside her fellow Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, formally requested Senate appropriators to reject President Trump’s proposal for expanding Border Patrol personnel. They argued that such measures were unnecessary and harmful. This stance was supported by other Democratic senators, including Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who, despite facing a challenging re-election battle, joined in the push against Trump’s border security funding for fiscal year 2019.
The letter signed by these senators advocated against any additional funding for Trump’s proposed border wall, criticizing the administration’s immigration enforcement strategy. The lawmakers contended that Trump’s policies were damaging families and the economy, claiming that the administration’s approach was indiscriminate and failed to differentiate between individuals with deep community ties and genuine threats to public safety.
At that time, Trump’s administration had moved to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided temporary relief from deportation for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Although the Supreme Court later ruled against the administration’s rationale for ending DACA, the decision did not bar the potential termination of the program.
The senators also highlighted a significant increase in ICE arrests of individuals without criminal records as evidence of what they described as a reckless approach to immigration enforcement. According to their report, arrests of non-criminal immigrants had doubled in fiscal year 2017 and tripled in the last quarter of that year compared to the previous period.
Despite these criticisms, Baldwin has recently indicated a shift in her stance, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive immigration reform that includes stronger border security measures. She has publicly supported increased investment in border security, arguing that Wisconsinites do not want a return to policies that separated families at the border.
Since her presidential campaign began, Harris has claimed to support a balanced approach to immigration reform, including enhanced border security and a pathway to citizenship. However, there have been concerns about the effectiveness of the current administration’s approach. Under the Biden-Harris administration, data reveals that between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol released 99 terror watchlist suspects into the U.S., with 34 additional suspects remaining in federal custody but not yet deported, raising questions about the administration’s commitment to maintaining robust border security.
