exclusive: A senior House Republican in a district bordering Mexico is inviting Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris to see the crisis firsthand.
“Every year for four years, both before and after she took on the job of dealing with border issues by finding and addressing root causes, I invited her to come to the border. One of the reasons was obviously Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. “This has been a border crisis almost from day one of the Biden administration,” he told Fox News Digital. “
“But by the next year, when she got the job from the president, she immediately suggested that it all came from three countries, or that those three countries were filled with people fleeing crime.”
Issa was referring to Harris’ appointment to address the “root causes” of mass migration from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala – a role that has drawn widespread criticism from Republicans as the immigration crisis continues to impact cities across the country. .
Venezuelan gang TREN DE ARAGUA gives members ‘green light’ to attack police: officials
Rep. Darrell Issa renewed his request for Vice President Kamala Harris to visit the borders of his district. (Getty Images)
The former House Oversight Chairman told Fox News Digital that in his experience in his home district, immigration issues are more prevalent than in those three countries.
“I wanted her to come over and see, even then, we had a very diverse immigrant population, with more and more people coming from other parts of the world, whether it was Romania or Russia or all parts of Asia,” Issa said. .
Issa said he did not expect Harris to accept his offer, citing his experience with her as California’s junior senator during the Trump administration’s tenure as head of the U.S. Trade and Development Administration.
Border state lawmakers sound alarm over bloodthirsty Venezuelan gangs entering U.S.: ‘They have no rules’
This image shows the border wall that separates Mexico from the United States in the San Diego area. (Fox News)
“When I was a Trump appointee, she would not meet with me as a home state senator. [Late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,] Issa said.
The latest data shows the number of border encounters fell to the lowest monthly level of Biden’s presidency in June, with just under 84,000 migrants encountered between entry points after the president signed an executive order restricting most asylum applications. people.
But Republicans believe that number is still too high and continue to blame Biden and Harris for crimes committed against Americans by illegal immigrants this year.
“I’m about 100 miles from the Mexican border, east of San Diego. What we’re seeing and hearing from law enforcement is an increase in the amount of crime on the border,” Issa said.
Click here for more coverage of the border security crisis
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Republican Senator Vance, was touring parts of the border on Thursday. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
His latest invitation to Harris comes as former President Trump’s running mate, Ohio Republican Sen. Vance, is expected to visit parts of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on Thursday.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Republicans don’t agree on everything, but we agree that government is already too big and taxes are already too high. We believe the laws should be enforced, criminals should be punished, and our borders should be secure,” Issa said. . “It’s really annoying that Harris isn’t here. JD’s arrival was expected because… support for defence, including borders, are core principles of our party.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but had not received a response as of press time.
