Republicans slam Kamala Harris as she asked migrants 'do not come’ to US but 8M showed up anyway
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WASHINGTON, DC: During her most famous speech in June 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris, entrusted with managing the US border back then, communicated a message to potential migrants, advising them “do not come” to the United States.
Despite her plea, an estimated 8 million immigrants chose to enter the country regardless, according to the New York Post.
“I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border, do not come. Do not come,” she said.
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“The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border,” the Vice President added.
This happened after President Joe Biden's election victory in 2020, as the US continued to experience an influx of migrants.
What happened after Kamala Harris told migrants to stop flooding into United States?
The southern border of the United States saw a significant increase in illegal crossings after Vice President Kamala Harris’ aforementioned message, with over 6.3 million migrants and at least 1.5 million others who got in by managing to evade law enforcement, according to federal data.
Kamala Harris is likely to secure the Democratic presidential nomination after President Joe Biden withdrew and endorsed her on Sunday, July 21.
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By Monday night, she had received endorsements from nearly all major Democrats, including most presidential contenders within the party, and had the support of over half the delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
However, her performance in her initial major role as vice president is now under scrutiny.
She has been criticized by Republicans for her performance in the role for years, calling her Biden’s “border czar” with concerns surrounding the ongoing surge in border crossings during her tenure.
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According to former acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan, “the data is irrefutable” showing that “Vice President Harris has overseen the worst, unmitigated border security crisis in our lifetime.”
“Her performance has negatively impacted every aspect of our country’s safety and national security and can only be described as complete failure,” Morgan claimed.
Another former Homeland Security official, Charles Marino, mentioned that Harris has not effectively addressed the increased migration to the US and has instead been “both an enabler and facilitator” of record crossings.
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Despite the high number of illegal border crossings at the southern US border in 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that "the border is secure."
However, Border Patrol agents have expressed a different view, stating that the border has not been secure under her leadership.
“She hasn’t literally done anything … she came to the border once and we sanitized all the aliens out of there to make it look good,” one agent said.
“She’s the border czar and has been remotely close to the border once in four years,” a second agent said.
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Kamala Harris took on the migration role in March 2021 to address various issues causing migrants to flee Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
In June 2021, she made her only public visit to the border, meeting with border officials in El Paso, Texas.
Under Harris' leadership, the White House plans to invest $4 billion in Central America, focusing on creating job opportunities, combating corruption, and addressing crime and trafficking in the region.
While border crossings have decreased in recent weeks, experts attribute this decline to Texas officials' efforts to block access to key crossings, as well as the impact of the summer heat.
Additionally, Biden's executive order, which limits access to asylum for those who cross the border illegally, has played a major role in the decrease in border crossings.