Vice President Kamala Harris just made her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office, and, well, let’s just say it did not go smoothly. After years of staying mostly hands-off on the border issue, Harris finally made a brief stop in Douglas, Arizona, where she gave a speech that put the blame squarely on former president Donald Trump.
At the rally, Harris slammed Trump’s immigration policies, saying, “He made the challenges at the border worse, and he is still fanning the flames of fear and division.”
She continued to criticize his legacy, while promising that as president (yep, she’s already looking ahead to 2024), she’ll tighten up border security, reduce illegal crossings, and make sure deportations happen for those not seeking asylum through legal means. She even dropped the phrase “mass amnesty” to signal a more lenient approach, which is pretty much the opposite of what Trump stands for.
But before you could say “border czar,” the backlash started rolling in. The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), the union representing Border Patrol agents, did not hold back on Harris. They slammed the vice president for ignoring the border crisis for most of her time in office. And honestly? They weren’t wrong—this was her first border visit since 2021, despite being tapped by President Biden to handle the situation over three years ago.
“Vice President Harris has ignored the border problem she created for over three years,” the NBPC said in a fiery statement. “She goes down there for 20 minutes for a photo op and decides to repeat some of the things the NBPC has said before. But again, where has she been the last 3 1/2 years?”
The numbers don’t paint a pretty picture for Harris, either. Since she took on the border issue, illegal border crossings have surged to an estimated 12 million people, and that includes some seriously dangerous criminals. We’re talking about tens of thousands of violent offenders, from rapists to convicted murderers, slipping through the cracks.
“Comrade Kamala Harris, who allowed almost 14,000 MURDERERS to freely and openly roam our Country, is now making a Speech in Douglas, Arizona, trying to say she did an OK job with the Border. She didn’t,” Trump said.
But it wasn’t just the Border Patrol Union coming for Harris—Trump himself joined in, guns blazing, with some of his signature rhetoric. The former president, never one to mince words, blasted Harris in a Truth Social post (naturally), calling her “Comrade Kamala” and accusing her of allowing almost 14,000 murderers to roam free in the U.S.
“She is the Worst Vice President in History, and the Worst Border Czar in History, and people are dying every day because of her. SHE HAS GOT BLOOD ON HER HANDS!” Trump wrote, taking his typical no-holds-barred approach.
Ouch.
So, what’s the deal? Harris’s recent promises—more deportations, keeping the border closed between ports of entry—sound strong. But critics are asking why she hasn’t used her power as VP to push for these changes over the past four years. The truth is, Harris has often been seen as hesitant when it comes to cracking down on immigration, favoring policies that critics say lean towards mass amnesty rather than deportation.
As we head into the 2024 election, it’s clear that immigration is going to be a huge issue. Harris is betting that a new approach—one that distances herself from the Biden administration’s hands-off policy—will win over voters. But with Trump already sharpening his attacks, and the border crisis only getting worse, it’s going to be a tough sell.
