Vice President Kamala Harris outlined her vision for the nation’s border in a Thursday night address in Chicago, accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. However, her shift towards the center on immigration has not silenced Republican criticism, which is expected to be a pivotal issue in the 2024 election.
Harris reaffirmed her support for a bipartisan border bill negotiated by the White House and the Senate earlier this year, indicating that she, like President Joe Biden, views the surge in border crossings as a potential liability in November. At the same time, she appeased her Democratic base by advocating for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
“We can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system,” Harris stated. “We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border.” This stance reflects Harris’s delicate balancing act to win over voters, but it may not shield her from Republican criticism, which has highlighted her past views, including her support for reforming Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller criticized Harris’s proposal, labeling it “amnesty” and asserting that it would grant citizenship to every undocumented immigrant in the country. Miller’s comments echo the skepticism surrounding comprehensive immigration reform, which has been a contentious issue since former President Ronald Reagan’s 1986 amnesty program.
The Biden administration’s efforts to overhaul immigration policy have been met with resistance, including the failed U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and a bipartisan Senate border bill that was blocked in 2023. Sen. Elizabeth Warren expressed confidence in Harris’s ability to deliver on immigration reform, while Harris’s campaign chief, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, emphasized the need for “real solutions” through legislative action.
Harris has pledged to revive a bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law, but she will face pressure from progressives and immigrant rights groups to go beyond Biden’s campaign promises. Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf accused Harris of having a “radical plan” in mind, claiming that the U.S. Citizenship Act would be the “most expansive and radical amnesty” ever introduced.
Harris is expected to continue some of Biden’s existing border protocols, including a June executive action that limits the number of asylum seekers at the border. Her campaign chief attributed the recent decrease in migrant arrests to this action, indicating that Harris will build upon these policies.
Immigration remains a top concern for voters, and the GOP believes it can capitalize on the issue by linking Harris to the surge in border crossings. Despite Harris’s outline of her immigration plan, Republicans and conservatives have expressed frustration with the lack of specificity and the implications of her proposals.
