As the 2024 presidential election looms, immigration and border security have repeatedly been cited by voters as a top issue — but where do Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump stand on securing the border?
Trump – mass deportations and border wall
Former President Trump made cracking down on illegal immigration his breakout issue in 2016, calling for a massive wall at the southern border and promising a tougher stance against Mexico.
With a massive migrant crisis at the southern border, which exploded under the Biden administration, Trump again made the issue one of his top focuses on the 2024 campaign trail.
He has promised to finish the wall, over 450 miles of which were built during his administration. He has also promised to launch the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on Nov. 4, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He has also pledged to terminate “every open borders policy of the Biden administration.”
On the issue of migrant crime, he has said he will invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove gang members, drug dealers and others to end the “scourge of illegal alien gang violence once and for all.”
“I’m announcing today that upon taking office, we will have an operation Aurora at the federal level to expedite the removals of these savage gangs, and I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Think of that, 1798. This was put there, 1790. Yeah, that’s a long time ago. Right?” Trump said last month. “To target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
Meanwhile, he has looked to go beyond illegal immigration and also shut down migrant parole policies that have been used by the Biden administration to bring in hundreds of thousands of migrants via humanitarian parole.
“They use a little technicality so we don’t call ’em, but that to me, that’s illegal,” he said Monday of the parole processes for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
It would likely involve the limiting of the CBP One app, which was expanded by the Biden administration to allow migrants to make appointments on the app at ports of entry.
A Trump administration would also likely seek to restore the 2019 Remain-in-Mexico policy and bring back down the number of refugee admissions. On Monday, he announced an additional policy, promising to slap a 25% tariff on incoming goods from Mexico.
“I’m going to inform [the Mexican president] on day one or sooner that if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I’m going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything they send into the United States of America,” he said.
Harris – bipartisan legislation and calls for amnesty
Border security has been a thorny topic for Vice President Harris, who was given the nickname of “border czar” by the media and some critics when she was given the assignment of leading diplomacy to tackle root causes of migration in early 2021.
In that role, she visited Mexico, Guatemala and El Paso, Texas. Recently, she visited Arizona as part of her presidential campaign. Her office has touted a project to rally private-sector investment in the region via a call to action that has seen more than $5.2 billion committed since May 2021 from over 50 companies and organizations to tackle root causes.
She has also been dogged by her past of more radical stances when serving as a California senator and 2020 presidential candidate, including a promise 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 nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Montage Mountain Resort in Scranton, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
But as she has sought to present herself as the candidate best suited to handle the border crisis, she has emphasized her past as a prosecutor going after transnational criminal organizations.
“As Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris went after international drug gangs, human traffickers and cartels that smuggled guns, drugs, and human beings across the U.S.-Mexico border.
She has also repeatedly hammered Trump over 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 gain.”
That bill, which failed to pick up enough support to pass the chamber, would have provided additional funding to the border, including for 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel, over 4,300 new asylum officers, 1,200 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and 100 new immigration judge teams.
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It also included an emergency authority to allow officials to shut down 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 migrants released into the interior and tighten language for credible fear screenings into the U.S.
Harris has said she will sign the bill if it is passed when she is president. However, she has also retained her 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 wishes to see a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants passed 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 to fortify not only our border but deal with the fact that we also need to create pathways for people to earn citizenship.”
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