Harris Immigration Policy: VP Vows Tougher Border Control and Fentanyl Crackdown

Harris Immigration Policy

Democratic candidate Harris promises to strengthen border control over immigration and fentanyl

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Douglas, Arizona, to address immigration issues and emphasize her commitment to combating fentanyl trafficking. During her visit, she called for stricter asylum restrictions and proposed measures to reform the immigration system, criticizing Donald Trump for fostering fear around immigration.

Harris Immigration Policy to maintain closed borders at legal entry points, impose tougher penalties on repeat offenders, and ensure that individuals who do not seek asylum at legal ports are ineligible for protection. She also expressed her intention to revive a bipartisan border security bill aimed at reducing fentanyl flow, which was previously blocked. She pledged to double funding for prosecuting drug trafficking organizations. Her proposals aim to appeal to the Latino electorate in Arizona, balancing border security with a humane immigration process.

Key Concepts

• Vice President Kamala Harris visited Douglas, Arizona, to address immigration issues and fentanyl trafficking.
• She called for stricter asylum restrictions and emphasized the need to reform the “broken immigration system.”
• Harris criticized Donald Trump for fostering fear and division regarding immigration policies.
• She acknowledged the high number of migrant arrests for illegal crossings under President Biden’s administration.
• Harris proposed more stringent measures against illegal border crossings to appeal to the Latino electorate in Arizona.
• The U.S. will maintain closed borders at legal ports of entry, with illegal crossers facing deportation and reentry bans.
• Tougher criminal charges for repeat offenders and ineligibility for asylum for those not claiming it at legal entry points were outlined.
• Harris emphasized the importance of balancing border security with a fair immigration process, including a path to citizenship for “Dreamers.”
• She highlighted the increase in fentanyl seizures at ports of entry as part of efforts to combat drug trafficking.
• A bipartisan border security bill aimed at reducing fentanyl flow was blocked in the Senate, but Harris plans to revive it.
• The proposed legislation includes adding Border Patrol agents, asylum officers, immigration judges, and new drug detection technology.
• Harris acknowledged the need to target the global fentanyl supply chain and called for more action against transnational criminal organizations.
• Fentanyl overdose deaths have become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, totaling over 107,000 in 2023.
• Harris pledged to double funding for prosecuting drug trafficking rings and modernize the nation’s screening and vetting infrastructure.

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris made her first campaign visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, calling for tighter asylum restrictions and vowing to make preventing fentanyl from entering the United States a “top priority.”

In Douglas, Arizona, a border town of fewer than 17,000 people, Harris Immigration Policy to fix “our broken immigration system” while accusing her opponent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, of “stoking fear and division” and exaggerating the impact of immigration on American lives.

About 7 million migrants have been arrested for illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under President Joe Biden, according to government data, a record number that has sparked criticism of Biden and Harris from Trump and his fellow Republicans.

Immigration is a top issue for voters. Arizona is a competitive swing state with a large Latino electorate, and both parties are vying for their support. Policies at the southern U.S. border remain a source of fentanyl, the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the U.S.

Harris called for more punitive measures against illegal border crossers after Biden implemented an asylum ban on illegal entry, a move that significantly reduced illegal crossings.

“I will take further action to keep the border closed at legal ports of entry,” Harris said. “Illegal crossers will be apprehended, deported, and barred from reentry for five years.”

“We will bring tougher criminal charges against repeat offenders, and if someone does not make an asylum claim at a legal point of entry and instead crosses the border illegally, they will be barred from receiving asylum,” she said.

Harris emphasized her goal of creating a “humane” immigration program, saying she would work with Congress to create a path to citizenship for “Dreamers,” the hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States illegally as children. They have been a Democratic priority for a decade but were left out of a failed immigration bill backed by Biden.

“I refuse to accept the false choice that we must choose between securing our border and establishing a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” Harris said. “We can and must do both.”

Harris also received briefings on Customs and Border Protection’s counter-drug operations and viewed inspection techniques used to seize illegal drugs, including fentanyl, the campaign said, noting that border officials seized more fentanyl at ports of entry in 2022 and 2023 than in the past five fiscal years combined.

Trump has blocked a bipartisan border security bill aimed at reducing the flow of fentanyl. The Senate blocked the bill in February after Trump pressured Republicans to reject any compromise.

Harris said she would revive the legislation, which would add 1,500 Border Patrol agents and other personnel, 4,300 asylum officers, 100 immigration judges, and new drug detection technology.

Harris said she would target the “entire global fentanyl supply chain.” She noted that China has begun to crack down on fentanyl precursor chemicals, but more needs to be done.

Fentanyl overdose deaths have surged and are now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. In 2023, more than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses.

Harris pledged to double funding for prosecuting transnational criminal organizations and drug trafficking rings and to modernize the nation’s screening and vetting infrastructure.