Janice R. Andrews
A hot topic once again in the heated run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election is immigration. Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been branded as a “failed border czar” by former President Donald Trump’s campaign, is at the center of this discussion. Beginning with the first television commercial against Harris, Trump’s team has focused on immigration, which they believe to be her biggest weakness. But is Kamala Harris really a “failed border czar,” or is this term just a ploy to hurt her chances of winning the election?
The Story of the Trump Campaign
A narrator over footage of Harris dancing declares plainly, “This is America’s border czar,” setting the stage for Trump’s media onslaught. A barrage of facts designed to present a negative picture of Harris’s term follows. The advertisement claims that 10 million unlawful border crossings and 250,000 fentanyl-related overdose fatalities have occurred while Harris has been in charge. The harsh final line of the advertisement reads, “Kamala Harris: failed, weak, dangerously liberal.”
With little delay, Harris’s team retaliated, accusing Trump of “his trademark lies” and fabrications. However, the portrayal of Harris as a “failed border czar” has endured, especially among Republican supporters who attribute the rise in illegal immigration along the southern border of the United States to her leadership.
The Contentious Title of “Czar of the Border”
The phrase “border czar” is contentious in and of itself. Supporters of Harris contend that she was never in charge of border security, a crucial point that the Trump campaign conveniently overlooks. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Ricardo Zuniga stressed that Harris’s job was to address the underlying causes of migration, not to police borders.
President Joe Biden assigned Harris the mission of tackling the underlying factors that lead to migration from Central America, with a focus on the Northern Triangle nations of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, at the beginning of 2021. People have been fleeing northward from these nations for a long time due to gang violence, economic instability, and environmental calamities. Therefore, Harris’s work involved more long-term solutions than urgent border management.
Harris’s Method: Dealing with the Causes
Harris’ strategy has been to try to make Central America’s situation better in order to lower the amount of individuals escaping to the US. She has contributed to the region’s efforts to foster entrepreneurship and create employment by securing $5 billion from the private sector. In addition, Harris formed a task group to investigate corruption in Central America and has worked to address the root causes of migration, which include deprivation, violence, and opportunity gaps.
Harris’s attempts have encountered suspicion, though. Opponents contend that despite her efforts, there are still a lot of undocumented immigrants trying to enter the country illegally. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 300,000 interactions with unauthorized aliens along the southern border in December 2023 alone.
Complaints from All Parties
Along the border between the United States and Mexico, several local politicians have criticized Harris’s work. The mayor of Yuma, Arizona, Douglas Nicholls, a Republican, expressed dismay in Harris’s efforts, claiming that the influx of undocumented immigrants had put an unprecedented burden on his community. Based on what we observed here at the real border, Nicholls added, “I wouldn’t call whatever diplomatic work she was doing in other countries very effective.”
Republicans are not the only ones who are irritated. Given her lack of past expertise in Latin American issues, several observers in Mexico and Central America have questioned Harris’s qualifications. Some contend that the money Harris assisted in raising pale in comparison to the enormous scope of the refugee situation.
The head of the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies, Ricardo Barrientos, said that although Harris’s endeavors are commendable, the $37 billion in remittances that Central American migrants sent home in only the previous year dwarfs them. “In relation to the size of the task, it is minuscule. “Too little, too late, as some would say,” said Barrientos.
The Defense of the Harris Campaign
Harris’s supporters contend that her work in Central America has been purposefully misinterpreted in spite of the criticism. Harris’s efforts, according to Katie Tobin, a White House immigration specialist, have been unfairly disparaged. Data indicating a 72% decrease in immigration from Central America between March 2021 and June 2024 was cited by Tobin as proof that Harris’s measures are starting to take effect.
Additionally, Tobin berated the Harris campaign for not doing enough to refute the unfavorable story. “Republicans have an opportunity to spread misinformation on the airwaves when there is a void and the vice president stays silent on immigration,” Tobin stated.
The Harris campaign has released its own advertisements showcasing her efforts on immigration in reaction to Trump’s criticism. One advertisement centers on Trump’s resistance to an immigration agreement and charges him with undermining attempts by both parties to reform the “broken” immigration system. An further advertisement highlights Harris’s prior work as the attorney general of California, when she brought legal action against drug-trafficking organizations and cartels.
A Difference of Opinion
The discussion surrounding Harris’s performance as “border czar” is probably going to stay firmly split across political camps. Democrats will emphasize the difficult, protracted nature of the problem and the advancements achieved under Harris’s direction, while Republicans will keep emphasizing that Harris has failed to stop the flood of undocumented immigrants.
The total number of undocumented immigrants has declined recently, partly because of President Biden’s executive order permitting the deportation of immigrants living in the country unlawfully without considering their pleas for asylum. further legal avenues for potential immigrants have also been established by the Biden administration, which might lessen strain on the southern border even further.
The Path Ahead
The question of whether Kamala Harris is a “failed border czar” will be a major campaign theme as the 2024 election draws near. It is anticipated that Trump and JD Vance, his running partner, would continue to apply pressure, utilizing the immigration problem as a focal point of their campaign.
Harris’s task will be to refute the myth that she hasn’t performed well in her position and to successfully convey her successes. It will probably depend on her ability to shake off the reputation of “failed border czar” in the approaching election.
In the end, how people see Harris’s handling of the immigration problem will determine how this political contest turns out. Immigration will surely continue to be a top concern for Americans as they get ready to cast their ballots in November, and the controversy surrounding Harris’s past will likely shape the 2024 presidential contest.
