In an interview with CNN last Thursday, Vice President Harris doubled-down on her commitment to pushing the failed Senate border bill through Congress and signing it into law. The interview, hosted by CNN reporter Dana Bash, was the Vice President’s first interview since becoming the Democratic nominee for President.
The immigration portion of the interview was limited to only three minutes. In it, the Vice President avoided answering why the Biden-Harris Administration waited three and a half years to address the record number of illegal border crossings. Instead, Ms. Harris pivoted to the Senate border bill, which she said she supported and still supports, going on to blame former President Donald Trump for killing it.
The Vice President touted several provisions of the Senate bill, in particular sections that would have added more Border Patrol agents and CBP officers, and, as she described, would have improved the ability of agents to seize fentanyl. However, Ms. Harris failed to disclose the provisions of the bill that would actually codify the Administration’s current practices and encourage more illegal immigration. First, the Senate border bill requires the release of any alien who merely claims asylum, before being screened by an asylum officer, and almost immediately provides them with work authorization. Second, the bill does nothing to stop the abuse of parole, allowing the Administration to continue its policy of releasing illegal aliens en masse. Third, the Senate border bill gives hundreds of millions of dollars to non-governmental organizations that facilitate illegal immigration.
Finally, the Senate border bill only requires the government to tighten the processing of illegal aliens along the southern border when an astounding 5,000 illegal aliens per day, averaged over 7 days, are encountered. These processing changes may only remain in effect for a limited number of days each year for three years, at which point their statutory authority expires altogether. This is actually worse than the provisions of President Biden’s executive action, signed in June, which requires more restrictions on asylum after 2,500 illegal aliens, averaged over 7 days, cross the border.
Still, Ms. Harris said that as President she would push Congress to pass the Senate border bill. Not only that, she said, “I will make sure it comes to my desk and I would sign it.”
