DOUGLAS, Ariz. — Vice President Kamala Harris visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday and called for new restrictions on immigration as she tries to counter Donald Trump’s messaging on the issue as Election Day draws closer.
Immigration is seen as one of Harris’ biggest vulnerabilities ahead of the November election and she used her speech in Arizona to tackle the issue head on.
“I reject the false choice that suggests we must choose either between securing our border and creating a system that is orderly, safe and humane,” Harris said. “We can and we must do both.”
The trip to the border marked the first for the Vice President since she became the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris spoke with local Border Patrol leaders for nearly half an hour as they walked along a rust-colored stretch of wall built during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Harris’ proposal would go beyond President Joe Biden’s current policy. If elected, she says migrants who cross the U.S. border illegally will be removed and barred from reentering for five years. She also attacked Trump as the one who tanked the bipartisan bill earlier this year.
“Donald Trump tanked it,” she said. “Because, you see, he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. And the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games and their personal political future.”
The Harris campaign also released a new ad that will air in Arizona and other battleground states.
The Trump campaign has also countered with TV ads slamming the Vice President as a failed “border czar.”
It is no surprise that the Harris campaign chose Arizona for the speech as immigration and security is the top issue for voters in the battleground state. A a Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows Trump with a 48 to 42 percent lead in the state while other polls show a tighter race.
