Former President Trump on Tuesday made the ongoing migrant crisis a central issue of his reelection campaign, seeking to contrast him with “radical” Vice President Kamala Harris, and said he wanted to visit the southern border at least once, and preferably more.
“The answer is yes, I intend to visit at least one more time, two more times, three more times if necessary,” he said in response to a question about whether he would visit the border.
He, along with other officials including former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Thomas Homan and former president of the National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd, said details were still being worked out.
New migrant caravan heads for US border amid fears of Trump victory
“We know the border very well, we’ve been there many times,” he said.
Former President Trump spoke on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. (Paul Sancia/The Associated Press)
Trump’s comments came as part of a call in which he repeatedly criticized Harris’ role in the ongoing border crisis.
Harris was tasked by President Biden in 2021 to lead diplomatic efforts to address the issue. The “root causes” of migration in the Northern Triangle countries. Republicans have called her the “border czar,” but the White House has not. Border apprehensions from these countries have fallen from 700,000 in FY21 to less than 500,000 in FY23, but it is unclear how much of this decline is related to these root cause strategies.
Republicans have wasted no time in repeating the title of “border czar” since she became the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Biden stepped down and announced his support for Harris as his successor.
“As you know, Kamala Harris was appointed Border Commissioner in March of 2021, but since then, millions of illegal immigrants have entered our country and countless Americans have been killed in immigration crimes because of her willful destruction of our borders and laws,” Trump said during the call.
Harris won’t discuss ‘root causes’ with Border Patrol chief as migrant crisis continues
Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling around the country on her Economic Opportunity Tour. (Lee Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Kamala Harris has teamed up with the unscrupulous Joe Biden to support the far-left policies of nationwide capture and release, an end to all deportations, a critical end to Remain in Mexico, abolishing my ‘safe third country’ agreement, and halting construction of the wall,” he said.
Trump contrasted his own policies on border security with those of the current administration, promising to repeal the Biden administration’s policies if elected, just as the Biden administration has repealed many of Trump’s policies since taking office.
“That’s why I’m ending any open border policy under the Biden-Harris Administration. We’ll close our borders on day one, stop invasions, and keep America safe,” he said.
The Biden administration blames the crisis on Republicans in Congress who have failed to approve funding and reforms to a system they call “dysfunctional.”
They also noted that President Biden’s recent executive order restricting immigration into the U.S., announced in June, has led to a more than 50% drop in overall contacts and a 70% drop in releases. Officials also said the administration has expelled and deported more than 50,000 individuals to more than 100 countries.
Biden announced the order in June, criticizing Trump for not supporting the bipartisan Senate bill.
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“He told Republicans he doesn’t want to resolve this issue, he wants to use it to attack me, and that’s what he wanted to do. It’s a cynical, extremely cynical political move and a complete disservice to the American people who look to us to resolve the border, not weaponize it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the traffic is already having an impact on the border, with a migrant caravan leaving the southern border with Mexico this week and reports that some migrants want to reach the border before a potential victory for President Trump in November.
