Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona this week, her campaign announced Wednesday as she desperately tries to flip the script on what’s been a persistent political weakness.
Ms. Harris is scheduled to visit the border town of Douglas in the key swing state of Arizona on Friday. She will give a speech on immigration, though campaign officials did not reveal any details about the trip.
Ms. Harris last visited the border when she traveled to El Paso, Texas in 2021 as she faced pressure over the increasing number of immigrants crossing the southern border into the U.S. The trip was scheduled after Ms. Harris was widely criticized for dismissing calls to travel to the border during an NBC news interview.
The lack of visits to the border is somewhat surprising since President Biden had tasked her with overseeing the root causes of immigration, which led to her being called the “border czar.”
Polls show that former President Donald Trump has a significant advantage with voters on the issue of illegal immigration and border security. A massive influx of immigrants shattered records as millions crossed the border each year under Mr. Biden’s watch.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 46% of voters preferred Mr. Trump on immigration compared to the 36% who preferred Ms. Harris.
Republicans have linked the immigration surge to Mr. Biden rolling back several Trump-era policies, including constructing the wall and his Remain in Mexico initiative. Mr. Biden has repeatedly insisted that he needs more funding from Congress and pointed to a sharp drop in encounters since he signed a June executive order limiting asylum entries.
Since replacing Mr. Biden as the Democratic nominee, Ms. Harris has tried to flip the script by painting Mr. Trump as weak on immigration and emphasizing the decrease in border encounters.
She has blamed Mr. Trump for blocking a bipartisan border security bill that would have increased funding for the border while placing a limit on asylum entries.
Ms. Harris has called for various forms of amnesty for illegal immigrants, including the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival by executive order. She has also advocated a “parole in place” plan to put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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