Vice President Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta on July 30, 2024.
John Bazemore/AP
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John Bazemore/AP
ATLANTA — Vice President Harris used the biggest event of her campaign so far to address one of her biggest political responsibilities: another surge in migrants at the U.S. southern border during the Biden administration.
Republicans have attacked Harris as a failed “border czar” who has done little to stem immigration, even though President Biden asked her early in his tenure as vice president to find ways to address the root causes of migration in the Northern Triangle countries. Former President Trump made border security one of his signature issues, building a wall on the southern border and using various restrictions to try to reduce immigration.
Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines holds up a tweet from Vice President Harris during a news conference at the Capitol on July 30, 2024.
Kent West Village/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
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Kent West Village/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
On Tuesday, Harris sought to reverse that narrative, portraying herself as a tough attorney general from a border state who has walked with law enforcement through underground tunnels between Mexico and California.
“I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers who came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won,” Harris said. “Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking about protection. The big picture at our border and he’s not acting on it,” she said.
Harris promises to revive border security bill
Harris had been vice president for only a few months when Biden gave her a politically dangerous task: finding solutions to the deep-rooted economic and social problems that have forced tens of thousands of Central Americans to try to find their way back to the U.S. Seek asylum.
Her first trip abroad was to Guatemala and Mexico, and Republicans criticized her for not first visiting border communities that are dealing with increasing populations. She then became angry during an interview with NBC, sparking criticism from domestic Republicans.
Harris made no mention of her work on the roots of immigration in her speech Tuesday night. Instead, she opted for a tactic that Biden also sought to use in his campaign — focusing on a strict border security bill that Biden agreed to sign that would, in his words, give him the power to “shut down the border.” When the number of people increases.
After some in the Senate initially supported the bill, congressional Republicans abandoned the bill. Harris, like Biden, blamed Trump for vetoing the bill because immigration issues would benefit him. Biden later took executive action to try to achieve some of the same goals, although it was challenged in court.
Vice President Harris speaks during a campaign event at the Georgia Convention Center on July 30, 2024 in Atlanta.
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“Donald Trump doesn’t care about border security — he only cares about himself,” Harris said. “As president, I will take back the border security bill that Donald Trump vetoed, sign it into law, and show Donald Trump what true leadership is,” she said.
Harris also addressed inflation concerns
For the first time in her nascent campaign, Harris also sought to provide some detail around her economic policy platform, responding to another issue voters say they are concerned about: the high cost of living.
Harris acknowledged that while many economic indicators show the U.S. economy is strong, people are not feeling it. “The prices are still too high: you know it, I know it,” she said.
She said cracking down on price gouging would be a “day one” issue and spoke of banning hidden fees and “unexpected late fees” from banks. She vowed to “take on corporate landlords” and “limit unfair rent increases” and cap prescription drug prices. Harris also cited the importance of affordable health care, child care and paid leave policies.
