Harris set to suggest stricter measures for Biden's asylum policies during border tour
Harris will make her inaugural trip to Arizona as the Democratic nominee, marking her first visit to the southern border.
TroibNews 
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce on Friday that she would not only maintain President Joe Biden’s extensive asylum restrictions if she were to win the presidency, but she intends to strengthen them further.
While visiting the border in Douglas, Arizona, Harris will suggest enhancing the president's policy that halts asylum claims between ports of entry when border crossings exceed a specific threshold, according to a senior campaign official who requested anonymity prior to the vice president's speech. The official did not offer additional details regarding Harris’ proposal.
This bold move from Harris comes as she aims to close the gap with voters regarding immigration, an area where former President Donald Trump has historically held an advantage. The proposal is introduced during her first visit to the southern border as the Democratic nominee, where she plans to highlight her opponent’s part in undermining the bipartisan border agreement.
“The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” she will state, based on her prepared remarks.
Biden's stringent asylum measures have proven beneficial for Harris's campaign: current border crossings are at levels comparable to those in Trump's last month in office, presenting her with a favorable statistic to leverage on the campaign trail.
After the collapse of the bipartisan border deal this summer—an initiative that Trump actively worked to derail—Biden implemented an executive action and rule allowing him to suspend asylum claims between ports of entry when there are over 2,500 daily crossings on average over a week. Once this suspension is in effect, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas can lift the restrictions only when crossings drop below 1,500 for a span of seven consecutive days, a benchmark that hasn’t been reached since the shutdown commenced in June.
Harris's intention to tighten the criteria for lifting these border restrictions reflects her team's ongoing concerns about immigration. However, advisors point to recent polling data indicating a decline in Trump's support on this issue since Biden exited the race, suggesting that it may be an opportune moment for Harris to assert herself.
This timing plays a crucial role in Harris's desire to visit the border on Friday, as she aims to communicate her message directly in a community grappling with immigration challenges, according to a senior campaign official. She is expected to visit the Raul H. Castro port of entry, where she will receive a briefing on the efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking through the southern border, as per a White House official. Additionally, she will engage with border agents, advocate for increased resources, and call on the Chinese government to take action against companies manufacturing fentanyl precursors. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Attorney General Kris Mayes will join her during the visit.
This trip occurs as Trump intensifies his attacks on Harris's immigration record, branding her as a “border czar” to amplify her involvement in addressing the root causes of migration under the Biden administration. On the day of Harris’s acceptance speech at the recent Democratic convention, Trump visited Cochise County, Arizona—the same location Harris will be in—to cast blame for the border crisis on her. His campaign criticized the vice president ahead of her visit, asserting that voters “are smart enough to realize that Kamala Harris has been in charge of the border for four years and she has failed.”
“Kamala’s last-minute trip to the border and empty calls for more security 39 days before the election will not rewrite the past 44 months of chaos, crime, and bloodshed caused by her open border policy. Over the past four years as Vice President, Kamala laughed when asked why she hadn't visited the border, denied the existence of a crisis, and pushed for mass amnesty,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
During a rally in Walker, Michigan, Trump referenced recent data from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief sent to Rep. Tony Gonzales, revealing that over half a million noncitizens have criminal histories, with more than 425,000 being convicted criminals who were not detained; over 13,000 of those had convictions for homicide as of July 21.
“This is bad timing for Kamala to show up today at the border,” Trump remarked. “She didn’t go there for four years. Now today she shows up, these numbers got released. Somebody doesn’t like her, I think.”
In response to Trump, Harris's strategy mirrors Rep. Tom Suozzi’s successful campaign in February, which focused on bolstering border security. Since the failure of border legislation earlier this year, Democrats nationwide have adopted a more assertive stance on immigration, cementing a significant shift in the party's position.
While many Democrats are relieved to see Harris navigating this complex issue more adeptly, some allies and immigration advocates express disappointment that she has not emphasized the urgent need for relief for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. They view Trump's rhetoric and his pledges regarding mass deportation as opportunities for Harris to revisit his contentious family separation policy.
Trump stated that immigrants are “ruining the fabric of our country,” revisiting his well-known critiques of cities like Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado, for accepting Haitian and Venezuelan refugees.
Harris is expected to balance her approach on Friday by discussing the necessity of establishing a fair and humane immigration system, arguing that the nation must prioritize both security and its "legacy as a nation of immigrants."
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
While visiting the border in Douglas, Arizona, Harris will suggest enhancing the president's policy that halts asylum claims between ports of entry when border crossings exceed a specific threshold, according to a senior campaign official who requested anonymity prior to the vice president's speech. The official did not offer additional details regarding Harris’ proposal.
This bold move from Harris comes as she aims to close the gap with voters regarding immigration, an area where former President Donald Trump has historically held an advantage. The proposal is introduced during her first visit to the southern border as the Democratic nominee, where she plans to highlight her opponent’s part in undermining the bipartisan border agreement.
“The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” she will state, based on her prepared remarks.
Biden's stringent asylum measures have proven beneficial for Harris's campaign: current border crossings are at levels comparable to those in Trump's last month in office, presenting her with a favorable statistic to leverage on the campaign trail.
After the collapse of the bipartisan border deal this summer—an initiative that Trump actively worked to derail—Biden implemented an executive action and rule allowing him to suspend asylum claims between ports of entry when there are over 2,500 daily crossings on average over a week. Once this suspension is in effect, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas can lift the restrictions only when crossings drop below 1,500 for a span of seven consecutive days, a benchmark that hasn’t been reached since the shutdown commenced in June.
Harris's intention to tighten the criteria for lifting these border restrictions reflects her team's ongoing concerns about immigration. However, advisors point to recent polling data indicating a decline in Trump's support on this issue since Biden exited the race, suggesting that it may be an opportune moment for Harris to assert herself.
This timing plays a crucial role in Harris's desire to visit the border on Friday, as she aims to communicate her message directly in a community grappling with immigration challenges, according to a senior campaign official. She is expected to visit the Raul H. Castro port of entry, where she will receive a briefing on the efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking through the southern border, as per a White House official. Additionally, she will engage with border agents, advocate for increased resources, and call on the Chinese government to take action against companies manufacturing fentanyl precursors. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Attorney General Kris Mayes will join her during the visit.
This trip occurs as Trump intensifies his attacks on Harris's immigration record, branding her as a “border czar” to amplify her involvement in addressing the root causes of migration under the Biden administration. On the day of Harris’s acceptance speech at the recent Democratic convention, Trump visited Cochise County, Arizona—the same location Harris will be in—to cast blame for the border crisis on her. His campaign criticized the vice president ahead of her visit, asserting that voters “are smart enough to realize that Kamala Harris has been in charge of the border for four years and she has failed.”
“Kamala’s last-minute trip to the border and empty calls for more security 39 days before the election will not rewrite the past 44 months of chaos, crime, and bloodshed caused by her open border policy. Over the past four years as Vice President, Kamala laughed when asked why she hadn't visited the border, denied the existence of a crisis, and pushed for mass amnesty,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
During a rally in Walker, Michigan, Trump referenced recent data from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief sent to Rep. Tony Gonzales, revealing that over half a million noncitizens have criminal histories, with more than 425,000 being convicted criminals who were not detained; over 13,000 of those had convictions for homicide as of July 21.
“This is bad timing for Kamala to show up today at the border,” Trump remarked. “She didn’t go there for four years. Now today she shows up, these numbers got released. Somebody doesn’t like her, I think.”
In response to Trump, Harris's strategy mirrors Rep. Tom Suozzi’s successful campaign in February, which focused on bolstering border security. Since the failure of border legislation earlier this year, Democrats nationwide have adopted a more assertive stance on immigration, cementing a significant shift in the party's position.
While many Democrats are relieved to see Harris navigating this complex issue more adeptly, some allies and immigration advocates express disappointment that she has not emphasized the urgent need for relief for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. They view Trump's rhetoric and his pledges regarding mass deportation as opportunities for Harris to revisit his contentious family separation policy.
Trump stated that immigrants are “ruining the fabric of our country,” revisiting his well-known critiques of cities like Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado, for accepting Haitian and Venezuelan refugees.
Harris is expected to balance her approach on Friday by discussing the necessity of establishing a fair and humane immigration system, arguing that the nation must prioritize both security and its "legacy as a nation of immigrants."
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
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