Democrats’ assertion that Kamala Harris was not President Biden’s border secretary is outlandishly bizarre: It contradicts everything the administration has said and done on immigration since Harris was given the ill-fated job more than three years ago.
For an administration whose credibility is already strained, this takes it to new depths.
July 25, Karine Jean-Pierre in vain Attempted revision Harris’ role in border affairs: “We will reverse the vice president’s incorrect assessment. She was not the secretary of border affairs.”
Jean-Pierre is not alone: The administration’s media allies are also united in their efforts to erase Harris’ responsibility for the administration’s historic events. A sharp rise in illegal immigration.
July 24, AxiosreportAbout “Confusion” The Post discussed the vice president’s exact role on immigration, but explained in an editor’s note that “Axios was among the outlets to mistakenly call Harris a ‘border secretary’ in 2021.”
The point is, it’s not wrong to think of Harris as the administration’s “border czar.” The words, actions and timing of the administration and Harris bear that out.
When Biden nominated Harris to be his border chief in March 2021, He said She will be part of a “full team” dealing with “domestic issues” and issues “from a domestic perspective.” He added, “That’s not her entire responsibility and job, but she’s spearheading that effort.”
So Biden’s nomination of Harris to be his administration’s immigration chief was as comprehensive as it could be — the question is not how vague it was, but whether Harris delivered on that comprehensive responsibility.
Less than three months later, Harris gave an embarrassing interview in June 2021. With NBC’s Lester HoltIn it, she said, “We have to address what’s happening at the border. There’s no question about that. That’s not up for debate.”
When Holt pressed her about a visit to the Mexican border that Harris had not made, she became defensive. To tell“At some point I’m going to the border. I’ve been to the border. So this whole issue about the border, I’ve been to the border. I’ve been to the border.”
When Holt pointed out to her that she had never been to the border, HarrisLaughed“I’ve never been to Europe, so I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I’m not discounting the importance of borders.”
When Harris finally visited the border later that month She said “We said we were coming to the border in March, so this is not a new plan.”
Harris has never denied responsibility for illegal immigration across the southern U.S. border in any of her public comments. If it was outside of her responsibility, it would have been natural for her to immediately correct the record. But Biden said she was “leading the effort” in addition to her other responsibilities. And her comments at the time indicate that she is taking full responsibility from the southern U.S. border to Central America.
Needless to say, A sharp rise in illegal immigration As three years have made clear, Harris has not been successful on either side of the pipeline.
In addition, the Border Patrol UnionCriticizedOn her contributions to the border crisis: “If you were given a job two years ago with the explicit goal of reducing illegal immigration, and then you sit back and do nothing while illegal immigration explodes to levels never before seen, you should be fired and replaced. Period.”
according toReportsThe two previous Border Patrol chiefs claim Harris never spoke to them.
Finally, last week the House of RepresentativesSolution“We strongly condemn the Biden administration and Border Commissioner Kamala Harris for their failure to secure the United States border,” the six Democratic senators said.Votedfor that.
The denials by the Administration and Ms. Harris today are also contradicted by their actions and timing: Why was Ms. Harris defensive in response to Holt’s questions about the border? If the border issues were not her responsibility, why didn’t she say so? And if not, why did Ms. Harris visit the border less than three weeks later?
If Harris is not the border secretary, why didn’t the administration correct the record immediately? The border crisis has been a major issue throughout the administration’s tenure, so why wait more than three years to correct such a basic fact?
As Americans hear the administration trying to exonerate Harris, they should consider the source of the information. They are saying Biden will be the first in the first six months of 2024. You can run for presidentallowed him to run unopposed in the primary, resisted all doubts about his competence, and fought doggedly to keep him in the campaign.
The same sources who denied illegal immigration was a crisis throughout her tenure are now trying to deny that Harris was in charge of the administration’s efforts to address the issue.
No, Harris’ immigration issue isn’t one of confusion. It’s one of evasion, a microcosm of the macro failure on illegal immigration. Sadly, that’s commonplace for this administration and its media allies.
J.T. Young served as a professional staff member in the House and Senate from 1987-2000, worked for the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget from 2001-2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004-2023.
