Kamala Harris told migrants ‘do not come’ to US — and 8 million showed up anyway: Inside the veep’s legacy as ‘border czar’
Kamala Harris told migrants “do not come” to the US, but at least 8 million came anyway.
In perhaps her most famous speech as vice president, which she made in June 2021 after she was given responsibility for securing the US border, Harris tried to convince migrants to stop flooding into the US in the wake of President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border, do not come. Do not come,” she said.
“The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.”
What followed that statement was record illegal crossings at the southern border of more than 6.3 million migrants and at least 1.5 million others who got in by sneaking past law enforcement, according to federal data.
Harris is now all but assured of becoming the Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden dropped out and endorsed her on Sunday. By Monday night, she had secured the endorsements of nearly every major Democrat, including almost all of the other would-be contenders, and had pledges from more than half the delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Her position is casting new light on how she handled her first big portfolio after becoming vice president.
Republicans have criticized her performance in the role for years — dubbing her Biden’s “border czar” and noting that crossings continued to skyrocket under her watch.
Former acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan told The Post that “the data is irrefutable” showing that “Vice President Harris has overseen the worst, unmitigated border security crisis in our lifetime.”
“Her performance has negatively impacted every aspect of our country’s safety and national security and can only be described as complete failure,” said Morgan.
Former Homeland Security official Charles Marino said Harris has not been effective in cracking down on heightened migration to the US, and has instead been “both an enabler and facilitator” of record crossings.
During a record year of illegal crossings at the southern border in 2022, Harris asserted that “the border is secure.”
However, rank-and-file Border Patrol agents who have dealt with the tremendous influx of migrants crossing told The Post that the border hasn’t been secure under Harris’ watch.
“She hasn’t literally done anything … she came to the border once and we sanitized all the aliens out of there to make it look good,” a second agent said.
“She’s the border czar and has been remotely close to the border once in four years,” one agent said.
Harris assumed the migration role in March 2021 to focus on a multitude of issues causing migrants to flee Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Her only public visit to the border was in June 2021, when she met with border officials in El Paso, Texas.
The White House says it’s on track to invest $4 billion in Central America under Harris’ leadership to open job opportunities, crack down on corruption and address crime and trafficking in the region.
Border crossings have fallen to the lowest level during the Biden administration in recent weeks, but experts attribute the fall to Texas officials’ work blocking access to key crossings, the heat of the summer months and Biden’s executive order that limits access to asylum for people who cross illegally.
