Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris signaled a significant shift in her stance on border security, expressing support for allocating funds to continue building a wall along the southern border if elected president. This marks a stark contrast from her earlier views when she criticized the border wall as “un-American” during the Trump administration. The pivot appears to reflect an attempt to counter criticisms from political opponents about the Biden administration’s creation and handling of the border crisis.
The DNC Speech
In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, Kamala made an evident U-turn on border security. Once a vocal critic of the border wall, Harris said she now supports a bipartisan border-security bill that includes provisions for continuing its construction.
The bill, S.4361, Border Act of 2024, negotiated by Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), redirects unspent funds to build the “pedestrian border barriers,” a.k.a walls, enhance resources for immigration courts, and increase the number of asylum officers.
During her speech, Harris pointed out that Trump blocked the bill because he believed it would hurt his campaign and stated that she would revive it. “I refuse to play politics with our security,” Harris declared, promising to “bring back the bipartisan border security bill” and sign it into law if elected president.
She also highlighted her experience in law enforcement to bolster her credentials on the issue, saying, “I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border.”
In wrapping up that portion of her speech, Harris called for “[reforming] our broken immigration system” by “[creating] an earned pathway to citizenship — and [securing] our border.” This call for action is interesting, given that just two years ago, in July 2022, Harris confidently declared the border to be “secure.”
“Tougher” Kamala
Trying to address the sharp criticism from the Republican camp on Harris’s failure as a “border czar” and facing a growing discontent among voters, her campaign scrambled to rebrand a weak and ineffective vice president as “tough.”
A few weeks ago, Harris’s campaign launched a new 30-second ad titled “Tougher,” aimed at creating the appearance of her strong stance on border security. The ad underscores Harris’s experience as a “border-state” prosecutor, emphasizing her record of tackling violent crime and combating drug cartels and gang members involved in smuggling activities across the border.
“Kamala Harris has spent decades fighting violent crime,” the ad states, showcasing her past efforts against border-related crimes.
The ad also promotes Harris’s support for what it describes as the “toughest border control bill in decades,” and her plans, if elected president, to hire thousands more border agents and crack down on issues such as fentanyl and human trafficking.
“Fixing the border is tough. So is Kamala Harris,” the narrator concludes.
According to The Hill, the campaign plans to run the ad in key battleground states such as Arizona and Nevada, aiming to bolster Harris’s image while attacking Trump’s failure to secure a bipartisan border deal during his presidency.
Conservative figures were quick to spot the images of the border erected during the Trump tenure in Harris’s ad. Mike Howell, the executive director of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, took to social media to criticize Harris for the apparent hypocrisy, sharing screenshots of the two wall images featured in the ad.
“What is that in this ad?” He posted on X, “Looks like the @realDonaldTrump BORDER WALL to me!”
GOP Criticism
The Trump campaign blasted Kamala Harris for the “flip-flop” on her stance regarding the border wall, referencing the Axios article that broke the news. According to a statement on Trump’s campaign website posted today, Harris has consistently opposed the wall, describing it as “un-American,” a “waste of taxpayer money,” and “medieval.” The campaign also highlighted her previous efforts as a senator to block the construction of the wall and her actions as “border czar” to halt its construction. The Trump campaign questioned Harris’s sudden shift in position, suggesting that she has always supported open borders and challenging her to clarify her views on the issue in an interview, which Harris has been avoiding ever since she’d been tapped as a Democratic presidential candidate more than a month ago.
“Kamala Harris is a fake. If she wants to build the border wall, she could start right now!” posted today Trump’s running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
Earlier this month, Trump warned that as president, Harris would “destroy the country.”
“Kamala Harris was put in sole charge of the Border. It quickly became the WORST AND MOST DANGEROUS BORDER IN HISTORY. As President, Harris will completely DESTROY OUR COUNTRY!” Trump said in a Truth Social post late Sunday.
In late July, the GOP released its first ad targeting Kamala Harris’s record on border security.
The ad features images of news coverage of crimes allegedly committed by illegal migrants, with the narrator stating, “This is America’s border czar. And she’s failed us.” The ad quotes Harris’s responsibility for allowing more than 10 million illegal immigrants into the country, as well as 250 million fentanyl deaths.
It concludes with a clip from a 2021 interview in which Harris defended not visiting the southern border by noting she had not been to Europe either. The ad ends with the statement, “Kamala Harris: Failed, weak, dangerously liberal.”
The ad is set to air in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin, with a total ad buy of about $12 million, according to The Hill.
The Trump campaign and Republicans have been aggressively attacking Harris — and rightfully so —over her role in handling immigration issues during the Biden administration, directly linking her ineffectiveness to the surge in illegal immigration at the southern border.
In July, House Republicans passed a resolution condemning Harris’s performance as the administration’s “border czar.”
Various polls consistently rate immigration as one of the top issues for voters this election season.
