‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (2024)

Vice President Kamala Harris might soon get a new official title: 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. In the meantime, Republicans have revived a title they gave her in 2021: "border czar."

Claims that President Joe Biden named Harris the "border czar" and that she is responsible for overseeing U.S. border enforcement gained prominence at the Republican National Convention as the party sought to link her to his immigration policy.

The refrain intensified once Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris. It was echoed in ads and by Trump campaign surrogates, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

"Here’s Biden appointing Kamala Harris to be his border czar to deal with illegal immigration," a narrator says in a video the Republican National Committee posted on its X account, @GOP. "And here are a record number of illegal immigrants — 10 million and counting — flooding over the border after Harris was put in charge of stopping illegal immigration."

We’ve repeatedly fact-checked claims about the number of people entering the U.S. illegally under Biden. The federal data tracks how many times officials encountered a person trying to cross the southern border, but it doesn’t reflect the number of people let in. And if one person tries to cross the border multiple times, that counts as multiple encounters, even if it’s the same person.

For this fact-check, we’re focused on the scope of Harris’ border responsibilities.

"Border Czar Kamala Harris' reversal of President Trump's immigration policies has created an unprecedented and illegal immigration, humanitarian and national security crisis on our southern border," Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told PolitiFact in a statement.

But Biden didn’t put Harris in charge of overseeing border security.

In a meeting with Harris in March 2021, Biden said Harris would lead U.S. diplomatic efforts and work with officials in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to stem migration to the U.S. Biden said that when he was vice president, he "got a similar assignment" and that the Obama administration secured $700 million to help countries in Central America.

"One of the ways we learned is that if you deal with the problems in country, it benefits everyone. It benefits us, it benefits the people, and it grows the economies there," Biden said then.

Biden asked Harris "to be the chief diplomatic officer with Central American countries" and address the root causes that make people leave their home countries, said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director for the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

Managing the border "has always been" the Homeland Security secretary’s role, Mittelstadt said.

Harris’ responsibility: Address foreign issues that contribute to migration

Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes influencing people’s decisions to migrate to the United States.

"I’ve asked her … to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border," Biden said in March 2021.

Biden held a similar role as vice president to former President Barack Obama. In a 2015 New York Times opinion piece, Biden said he would work with the Northern Triangle’s leaders on security, anti-corruption and investment efforts in the region.

"Donald Trump’s administration didn’t really sustain this strategy, but what Harris sought to revive in 2021 ran along the same lines," said Adam Isacson, defense oversight director at Washington Office on Latin America, a group advocating for human rights in the Americas.

Within weeks of Biden’s remarks about Harris’ role, Republicans including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., began calling Harris the "border czar" often in tandem with pointing out she had not yet been to the border.

In April 2021, when a reporter asked Harris whether she would visit the border, she said that her role is addressing the factors that make people leave their home countries, not managing the border.

Featured Fact-check

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (1)

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (2)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

stated on June 27, 2024 in an X livestream

Border Patrol agents take migrants "to the Yuma airport, put them on a plane to any destination they want. ... And they pay their ticket. And then they get reimbursement from FEMA."

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (3)

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (4)

"The president has asked (Homeland Security) Secretary (Alejandro) Mayorkas to address what is going on at the border. And he has been working very hard at that, and it’s showing some progress because of his hard work," Harris said at an event. "I have been asked to lead the issue of dealing with root causes in the Northern Triangle, similar to what the then-vice president did many years ago."

Harris said she’d focus on economic struggles, violence, corruption and food insecurity in the countries.

In June 2021, Harris visited El Paso, Texas, with Mayorkas. They outlined their responsibilities to reporters. Harris said she was addressing "the root causes of migration, predominantly out of Central America," and Mayorkas said, "It is my responsibility as the Secretary of Homeland Security to address the security and management of our border."

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (5)

Vice President Kamala Harris holds a press conferenceJune 25, 2021, at the airport after her tour of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. (AP)

But this distinction didn’t stop critics from linking Harris with U.S.-Mexico border security.

"The administration’s messaging on this in mid-2021 was not as clear as it should have been," Isacson said. "But at no time did Harris or the White House state that her duties included the U.S.-Mexico border, or border security."

What has Harris done to address immigration’s ‘root causes’?

Immigration experts said it’s hard to measure Harris’ success in her role, and that a "root causes" approach implies that the results will be seen long term, not immediately.

In July 2021, the administration published a strategy, with Harris writing the lead message, for confronting the factors that drive migration in Central America. The plan focused on economic insecurity, corruption, human rights, criminal gang violence and gender-based violence.

In March 2024, the administration said it secured more than $5.2 billion in private sector investments to the region. However, only about $1 billion has been distributed, the Partnership for Central America, a group working with the administration, reported.

The White House said the investments have generated more than 70,000 new jobs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, provided job training to 1 million people and expanded digital access to 4.5 million people.

"Still, her engagement on this issue has been sporadic," Isacson said. "She has not traveled very often to the region or otherwise sought to make ‘root causes in Central America’ a central theme of her vice presidency."

Illegal immigration at the U.S. southern border from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador has dropped since 2021. Encounters with people from other countries, Venezuela, have risen.

"But it’s hard to prove that U.S. assistance is a central reason" for the Northern Triangle countries’ decline, Isacson said.

The issues pushing people to leave Central American countries "are extremely complex and require deep restructuring of so much in those societies," said Cecilia Menjivar, a sociology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who specializes on immigration. "So it’s very difficult for one person to change all that, even if it is a powerful person."

Immigration patterns at the U.S.-Mexico border have more to do with conditions in Latin American countries than "any U.S. policy," Mittelstadt said.

For example, a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has displaced nearly 8 million people since 2014, according to the United Nations. Political, economic and security crises in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Ecuador have also led to more migration from these countries, Mittelstadt said.

In contrast, immigration encounters with people from El Salvador have dropped in past years, partly because of the country’s crime crackdown.

Our ruling

The Republican National Committee said Biden appointed Harris "to be his border czar to deal with illegal immigration...Harris was put in charge of stopping illegal immigration."

Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes that drive migration to the United States. He did not task her with controlling who and how many people enter the southern U.S. border. That's the Homeland Security secretary’s responsibility.

Experts say that seeing the results of addressing root causes driving people out of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — violence, economic insecurity and corruption — takes time.

The statement contains an element of truth, but it ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False.

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (2024)

FAQs

What is Kamala Harris trying to do? ›

In her early campaign speeches, Harris has echoed many of the same themes as Biden, saying she wants to give Americans more opportunities to get ahead. She's particularly concerned about making care – health care, child care, elder care and family leave – more affordable and available.

What does Kamala Harris want to accomplish? ›

As Vice President, she has worked to bring people together to advance opportunity, deliver for families, and protect fundamental freedoms across the country.

Was Kamala Harris a Border Czar? ›

First, Harris was never given the portfolio of border czar, said Alan Bersin, who embraced the label as a special representative for border affairs under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. "This was not the job assigned to VP Harris," he said.

What did Kamala Harris' mother tell her? ›

Has Kamala Harris done anything as VP? ›

Harris was also at the forefront of the administration's pursuit to codify voting rights protections. She pushed for Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, which would have extended the protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and required federal approval for some local election law changes.

What is Kamala Harris most known for? ›

Kamala Devi Harris (/ˈkɑːmələ ˈdeɪvi/ KAH-mə-lə DAY-vee; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current vice president of the United States since 2021 under President Joe Biden.

What are Kamala Harris' beliefs? ›

Harris is prochoice and is reportedly making reproductive health care central to her 2024 Presidential campaign. She has been called "the Biden administration's voice for reproductive rights" and "the White House's voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights."

What religious affiliation is Kamala Harris? ›

So, it's not hard to see why she chose a church that has that kind of justice DNA,” said Haynes, whose grandfather shaped Third Baptist's social justice identity as its pastor. Then his father carried it on during his short time in the pulpit. Through the years, Haynes and Harris connected over their shared faith.

What is Kamala Harris running for? ›

United States Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the votes needed to become the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee, the party's chairman said, setting up a November showdown against Republican Donald Trump.

Who is the new border czar? ›

Vance fashions himself as new 'border czar' in plot twist against Harris. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is making the border a central matter, comparing himself to Vice President Kamala Harris as he fights to flip the script against the “border czar” herself.

What job did Kamala Harris have before Vice President? ›

Political and legal career

In 1998, Harris left to work for the District Attorney's office in San Francisco. In 2003, Harris became the District Attorney of San Francisco. She worked as the attorney general of California until 2017 when she became a senator for California.

What is a kamala? ›

noun. a powder from the capsules of an East Indian tree, Mallotus philippinensis, of the spurge family, used as a yellow dye and in medicine as an anthelmintic.

Why do we remember Kamala Harris? ›

In 2020 Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, first African American, first Asian American and first daughter of immigrants to become vice-president elect of the United States.

What are some interesting facts about Kamala Harris family? ›

Harris's maternal ancestry comes from Tamil Nadu, India. Her paternal ancestry comes from Saint Ann, Jamaica. She is married to American entertainment attorney and law professor Douglas Emhoff.

What race was Kamala Harris's father? ›

“My father, like so many Jamaicans, has immense pride in our Jamaican heritage and instilled that same pride in my sister and me,” Harris told the outlet. “We love Jamaica. He taught us the history of where we're from, the struggles and beauty of the Jamaican people, and the richness of the culture.”

What is Kamala Harris' goal? ›

"Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency," Vice President Kamala Harris said at a political event in Atlanta on Tuesday evening. "When our middle class is strong, America is strong," the de facto Democratic presidential nominee said to the crowd of more than 10,000 supporters.

What are Kamala Harris's political beliefs? ›

When she ran for president in 2019, she backed a ban on fracking; mandatory gun buybacks, i.e. gun confiscation; taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries for prison inmates; racial reparations; decriminalizing illegal immigration; defunding the police; eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement; “Medicare for All”; ...

What is the role of the vice president? ›

The Constitution names the vice president of the United States as the president of the Senate. In addition to serving as presiding officer, the vice president has the sole power to break a tie vote in the Senate and formally presides over the receiving and counting of electoral ballots cast in presidential elections.

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