As the 2024 presidential election approaches, voters have repeatedly cited immigration and border security as a top issue, but where do Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump stand on border security?
Trump: mass deportations and border wall
Former President Trump made fighting illegal immigration his top issue in 2016, calling for a massive wall on the southern border and promising a tougher stance against Mexico.
With a massive immigration crisis at the southern border exploding under the Biden administration, Trump once again made the issue one of his main focuses in the 2024 election campaign.
He has promised to finish the wall, of which more than 450 miles were built during his administration. He has also promised to launch the “largest national deportation operation in American history” to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
TRUMP SAYS HE WILL CONDUCT ‘LARGEEST DOMESTIC DEPORTATION OPERATION IN U.S. HISTORY’ IF ELECTED
Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at the JS Dorton Arena on November 4, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He has also pledged to end “all of the Biden administration’s open border policies.”
On the issue of immigration crime, he has said he will invoke the Alien Enemies Act to expel gang members, drug traffickers and others to end the “scourge of illegal foreign gang violence once and for all.”
“I announce today that upon taking office, we will have a federal-level Operation Aurora to expedite the removal of these savage gangs, and I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Think about that, 1798. This was put there, 1790. Yes, That was a long time ago, right? Trump said last month. “Target and dismantle all criminal immigrant networks operating on American soil.”
Meanwhile, he has sought to move beyond illegal immigration and also end migrant parole policies that the Biden administration has used to bring in hundreds of thousands of migrants through humanitarian parole.
“They use a little technicality so we don’t call them, but to me that is illegal,” he said Monday of the parole processes for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
It would likely involve limiting the CBP One app, which was expanded by the Biden administration to allow immigrants to schedule appointments on the app at ports of entry.
A Trump administration would also likely seek to restore the 2019 Remain in Mexico policy and again reduce the number of refugee admissions. On Monday he announced an additional policy, promising to impose a 25% tariff on incoming goods from Mexico.
“I will inform [the Mexican president] on the first day or sooner, that if you do not stop this avalanche of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I am going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything you send to the United States of America,” he said.
Harris: bipartisan legislation and calls for amnesty
Border security has been a thorny issue for Vice President Harris, who was given the nickname “border czar” by the media and some critics when she was tasked with leading diplomacy to address the root causes of the migration in early 2021.
In that role, he visited Mexico, Guatemala and El Paso, Texas. He recently visited Arizona as part of his presidential campaign. His office has promoted a project to mobilize private sector investment in the region through a call to action in which more than $5.2 billion has been committed since May 2021 by more than 50 companies and organizations to address root causes.
She has also been dogged by her past of more radical stances when she served as a California senator and presidential candidate in 2020, including promising to end government contracts with private prisons and decriminalize illegal crossings. A Harris campaign adviser told Fox that her positions have been “shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration.”
KAMALA HARRIS AND THE SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS: A TIMELINE
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Montage Mountain Resort in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
But as she seeks to present herself as the best-suited candidate to handle the border crisis, she has emphasized her past as a prosecutor pursuing transnational criminal organizations.
“As Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris pursued international drug gangs, human traffickers, and cartels that smuggled weapons, drugs, and humans across the U.S.-Mexico border.
He has also repeatedly criticized Trump for his alleged role in torpedoing a bipartisan border security bill that was introduced in the Senate in January, accusing him of having “killed the border deal for his political benefit.”
That bill, which did not win enough support to pass the House, would have provided additional funding to the border, including for 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff, more than 4,300 new asylum officers, 1,200 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff members, and 100 new teams of immigration judges.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
It also included emergency authority to allow officials to close entries at the southern border when they reach a certain level, but conservatives say it would solidify high levels of illegal immigration.
The bill would also expedite work permits for immigrants released in the interior and toughen language for credible fear assessments in the US.
Harris has said she will sign the bill if it passes when she is president. However, he has also maintained his support for a 2021 bill introduced by the Biden administration, which includes a massive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
She has reiterated that she still wants to see a path to citizenship approved for illegal immigrants if she is elected to the White House.
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“We need a comprehensive plan,” Harris said in September. “That includes what we need to do not only to strengthen our border, but also to address the fact that we also need to create pathways for people to obtain citizenship.”
