Following President Biden’s decision to halt his reelection campaign and support Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris faced criticism regarding her involvement in immigration policy. Republicans held Harris responsible for the challenges faced by the Biden administration at the U.S.-Mexico border, where officials have observed a surge in illegal crossings over the past three years. In an interview with CBS News on Saturday, former President Donald Trump described Harris as overseeing the “most chaotic border ever” in her role as “border czar,” a label frequently used by her Republican critics.
Harris will certainly receive increased criticism regarding the Biden administration’s performance on immigration, a primary concern for American voters leading up to the election. While Harris holds a position related to immigration in the Biden White House, her duties are frequently misunderstood.
What exactly is Harris’ immigration role?
In March 2021, when the Biden administration faced the early stages of an influx in illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border, Mr. Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration’s diplomatic campaign to address the “root causes” of migration from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, including poverty, corruption, and violence. The region, known as Central America’s Northern Triangle, has been one of the primary sources of migration to the U.S.-Mexico border over the past decade.
Harris was not asked to be the administration’s “border czar” or to oversee immigration policy and enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. That has mainly been the responsibility of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his department, which oversees the country’s leading three immigration agencies, including Customs and Border Protection. The only role close to that of a “border czar” under the Biden administration was held for only a few months by Roberta Jacobson, a longtime diplomat who served as coordinator for the Southwest border until April 2021.
In her immigration role, Harris’ main line of work has focused on convincing companies to invest in Central America and promoting democracy and development through diplomacy. In March of this year, the White House announced Harris had secured a commitment from the private sector to invest over $5 billion to promote economic opportunities and reduce violence in the region. U.S. officials have always viewed efforts to reduce migration by improving conditions in migrants’ home countries as a long-term strategy. In its “root causes” framework, the Biden administration conceded that the “systemic change” it envisions for Central America “will take time to achieve.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most non-Mexican migration to the U.S. southern border originated from the Northern Triangle. In 2021, it made sense for the administration to focus on the root causes of migration in those countries. However, migration flows have changed dramatically in recent years. Record numbers of migrants have come from outside Central America, including countries like Cuba, Colombia, China, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
According to government data, in the fiscal year 2023, Border Patrol detentions of individuals from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador accounted for 22% of total border crossings, a decrease from 41% in fiscal year 2021. Conversely, it is noteworthy that unauthorized entries along the southern U.S. border by migrants from these three countries have shown a consistent decline post-2021.
Being the second-highest-ranking official in the Biden administration, Harris is expected to address inquiries regarding the record-breaking number of illegal border crossings in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Nevertheless, these numbers significantly dropped this year, hitting a three-year low in June following President Biden’s executive order restricting asylum for most migrants.
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