Earlier this year, President Donald Trump tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with taking a leading role in addressing the ongoing migrant surge along the U.S.-Mexico border.
After 40 days in her new role, however, Harris has yet to hold a briefing or press conference to address the issue, let alone make a personal visit to the border.
“It’s not going to be solved overnight”
In a recent interview, she was asked about her perceived inaction and basically stated that the problem would not be resolved any time soon.
“The kind of work that has to happen is the diplomatic work that we have been engaged in, including my calls to the president of Mexico, the president of Guatemala,” Harris said.
The vice president touted her work behind the scenes but prepared Americans for a lengthy process toward resolving the border problem, stating: “It’s not going to be solved overnight. It’s a complex issue. Listen, if this were easy, it would have been handled years ago.”
She went on to blame much of the crisis on climate change, suggesting that recent extreme weather events have driven individuals from their home countries and toward the U.S.
Of course, critics of the Biden administration have placed the onus on a decision to reverse or repeal many of the immigration and border policies implemented under the previous administration, which they say has served to encourage migrants to make the journey to America’s southern border.
“I understand the president’s busy”
As one example, Biden has canceled agreements put in place under former President Donald Trump to keep most migrants in Mexico until their immigration hearings could be completed.
The current administration has also paused many deportations pending a review of existing policies, effectively hamstringing the federal agents working to address the issue.
As a result, roughly 172,000 migrants attempted to cross the border in March, and nearly as many made the journey in April, representing near-record numbers of individuals who are now mostly waiting inside the U.S. to have their day in court.
In a recent Fox News interview, former acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf weighed in on the lack of action he has identified by Harris and the Biden administration.
“It’s really unbelievable, again, that either the president or the vice president has not gone down to the border,” he said. “Now, I understand the president’s busy. The vice president should be down at that border, understanding what is going on, talking to the law enforcement, talking to the men and women, talking to the sheriffs, talking to the ranchers, and understanding the impact that that much illegal immigration per moth is having on those communities down there.”
The post ‘It’s a complex issue’: Harris continues to avoid border-related press conference first appeared on Conservative Institute.
No comments: