Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Douglas, Arizona, where she said she would impose tougher asylum restrictions to reduce illegal border crossings. While not going into detail, Harris stated that she would make it harder to lift the emergency order in place that allows the U.S. to turn away migrants who enter the country illegally. Under the existing policy set by President Joe Biden, the U.S. turns away asylum seekers when border crossings reach a certain threshold. Harris plans to lower that threshold.
Despite taking a strong stance on border security, Harris also expressed support for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants currently in the U.S., specifically farmworkers and Dreamers. She criticized former President Donald Trump for his child-separation policies and accused him of making the border challenges worse. Trump has attacked Harris for the Biden administration’s immigration policies and called her the “architect” of the border crisis.
Harris’s trip to the border came as polls showed her lagging behind Trump in Arizona. She met with Border Patrol officials to discuss fentanyl trafficking and was introduced by a mother whose son died from the drug. Harris emphasized Trump’s role in blocking a bipartisan border bill and promised to bring it back if elected. This visit was Harris’s second to the southern border as vice president and her first as the Democratic presidential nominee, contrasting with Trump’s recent campaign trip to the border.
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