Kamala Harris, the United State’s Vice president and the officially nominated running president for the Democratic Party, has played a significant role in Biden’s administration, particularly with regards to immigration.
However, her stance on the U.S.-Mexico border wall and issues related to immigration is usually misunderstood by Americans, particularly by Republicans.
Two months into President Biden’s Tenure, many immigrants were invading the U.S causing a surge in illegal migrants in the states.
Biden assigned vice president Harris to issues with regards to the border and work with three countries in central america – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, aiming to improve living conditions in these countries, thus reducing migration.
Kamala Harris’s stance on the U.S.-Mexico border wall
Kamala Harris on several occasions has opposed the construction of the wall along the U.S. Mexico border, a policy of former President Donald Trump.
In Harris’ opinion, the wall is ineffective for securing the border, emphasizing that the wall does not address the fundamental cause of the problem.
When Harris was a U.S senator, Harris voted against funding for the border instead opining that a comprehensive immigration reform should be implemented.
Harris suggested the use of technology, improved infrastructure at the port entry and employment of more staff to secure the border without the reliance on physical barriers.
Vice president Harris’ suggestions indicated that modern technological advancement were to be deployed to ensure more security at the border.
Harris’s Role in the Biden Administration’s Immigration Efforts
In June 2021, Kamala Harris made her first trip to Guatemala where she addressed the people of Guatemala at a press conference where she instructed the people to remain in the country.
“I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come” – Harris said.
However, Harris warnings seemed not to have worked as there has been a significant invasion of immigrants in the United states like never before.
Misconceptions and controversies continue to rise and Harris has been nicknamed “border czar” by critics, particularly, Republicans.
Regardless, the fact is, Kamala Harris was not directly involved with the protection of the border.
Kamala’s primary assignment was foreign diplomacy. The department of Homeland Security is in charge of border security.
According to Time’s Vera Bergengruen, “Harris was never put in charge of the border or immigration policy. Nor was she involved in overseeing law-enforcement efforts or guiding the federal response to the crisis. Her mandate was much narrower: to focus on examining and improving the underlying conditions in the Northern Triangle of Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—which has been racked by decades of poverty, war, chronic violence, and political instability. The strategy relied on allocating billions for economic programs and stimulating private-sector investment in the region in hopes that these programs would ultimately lead fewer migrants to make the dangerous journey north”.
Contrary to public opinion, Harris focus was more narrowed to foreign diplomacy and working at improving the living conditions in central America to prevent citizens from migrating which explains her minimal involvement with the direct protection and security management of the U.S – Mexico border.
A closer look at Harris’s assignment reveals that the results cannot be feasible during her short term Administration with Biden.
A senior at the nonpartisan Migration Policy institute, Muzaffar Chishti in a statement commended Voce president Kamala Harris for her work in Central America. Chishti admitted that Harris did well. However, he pointed out that Harris’ assignment was not meant to produce immediate results.
“To the extent that this was a useful assignment, she did reasonably well in getting the private sector to invest in Central America. But it was an assignment that could not produce results anytime soon.”
Kamala Harris on Immigration Reform
Kamala Harris has been at the fore front of a comprehensive immigration reform creating a pathway for undocumented immigrants to become citizens, improving asylum processing and protecting young immigrants brought into the U.S. as children via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Remember, Harris is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India. Because of her background, she is especially empathetic in topics involving immigrants.
Kamala Harris on many occasions has expressed her stance on immigration, opposing immigration policies that separate families at the border. She has also spoke on her intentions of closing private detention centers to reduce deportations in the U.S, particularly for individuals who do not pose any threat to U.S citizens.
The vice president has also declared her support for making legal immigration pathways easier in order to reduce the strain at the border and give more opportunities for people to migrate legally.
Kamala Harris at the New York Times Dealbook summit spoke about the Biden Adminstration’s current condition with immigration, admitting that the system is broken.
However, she also admitted that the U.S congress will act to provide a legal way out. Speaking of the U.S. – Mexico border she said “It needs to be repaired, and we are working on that in a way that we establish a safe and humane and orderly immigration system at the border”.
