WATCH: Harris vows to shut down private migrant detention centers on 'day one' as POTUS in 2020 clip

WASHINGTON, DC: In a video that has recently resurfaced, Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States and the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, made a bold promise during her 2020 presidential campaign.

The video, obtained by the New York Post, shows the then-senator speaking at a town hall in Iowa City in October 2019, where she unequivocally pledged to close all privately run immigration detention centers if she were to become president.

“I want to know, when you become president, would you be committing to close the immigration detention centers?” an attendee asked.

"Absolutely, on day one," she responded.

Context of Kamala Harris' promise

The town hall attendee's question touched on a critical issue that has long been a subject of debate in US immigration policy—the use of private detention centers to hold migrants. As per the latest statistics in July 2024, approximately 37,000 migrants are in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention nationwide, with nearly half being held in private facilities.

These private centers, often owned by large security companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic, are a major part of the immigration enforcement system in the United States.

Harris’s stance on this issue has been clear and consistent. During the same town hall, she recounted her visit to a private detention center in Florida that housed migrant children.

"This means that their business model is that people are profiting off the incarceration of other human beings," Harris remarked. "I on day one will shut them down. That is not how our taxpayer dollars should be spent."

The issue of immigration detention remains highly relevant as the Biden administration continues to grapple with unprecedented levels of migration at the US-Mexico border. The administration’s policy has been to prioritize the detention of those deemed the most significant threats to national security.

However, the challenge is immense, with over 37,000 migrants currently in ICE detention. Among them, more than 10,000 are convicted criminals, and an additional 4,000 have pending criminal charges, according to agency data.

Despite Harris’ earlier pledge, the reality of managing such large numbers of detainees has led to the continued use of private detention facilities. As of July 2024, about 15,000 migrants were being held in 18 private detention centers across the country.

Kamala Harris’ role as 'border czar' and a shift in rhetoric

As Vice President, Kamala Harris has been at the forefront of the Biden administration’s efforts to address illegal migration from Central America. In this role, often referred to as the “border czar,” she has faced significant criticism from various quarters, including former president Donald Trump.

Trump, who is running against Harris in the 2024 presidential race, has attacked her record on border security, pointing to the record levels of illegal crossings that have occurred under the Biden administration.

Trump’s attacks are not without historical context. In 2018, Harris, then a senator, drew considerable attention when she likened ICE agents to the Ku Klux Klan during a heated exchange with Ronald Vitiello, Trump’s nominee to lead the agency.

Harris also supported the “abolish ICE” movement, calling for a critical reexamination of the agency and suggesting that it might need to be rebuilt from scratch. "There’s a lot that is wrong with the way that it’s conducting itself," she said at the time.

As the 2024 election approaches, Harris’s rhetoric on border security has notably shifted. Despite her previous remarks and the surge in illegal crossings during her tenure as Vice President, she has vowed to take a tough stance on the issue.

Speaking in Arizona, a key battleground state, Harris touted her experience as Attorney General of California, a border state. “I was attorney general of a border state. I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels, and the human traffickers,” Harris said on Friday. “I prosecuted them in case after case and I won, so I know what I’m talking about.”

During the same speech, Harris expressed support for legislation aimed at strengthening border security while also creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. She used the opportunity to criticize Trump, accusing him of prioritizing electoral politics over meaningful reforms.

"Donald Trump does not want to fix this problem," Harris claimed. She pointed to a bipartisan (albeit controversial) border security bill that she said Trump sabotaged for political gain.

"Earlier this year, we had a chance to pass the toughest bipartisan border security bill in decades, but Donald Trump tanked the deal because he thought by doing that it would help him win an election."

“We know our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it,” she added.

Political stakes in Arizona

Immigration has become a central issue in the 2024 presidential race, particularly in states like Arizona, where the battle for votes is intense. President Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona in 2020 by about 10,000 votes, and the race between Harris and Trump is expected to be similarly close.

The importance of immigration in this context cannot be overstated, especially as Democrats’ share of the state’s electorate has declined by 3% during the Biden administration, according to the latest voter registration numbers, NBC News reported.

In response to Harris’ visit to Arizona, the Trump campaign criticized her for not visiting a border town.

"Border Czar Kamala Harris’ Vice-Presidential pick is just as dangerously liberal as she is," said Halee Dobbins, the Republican National Committee director for Arizona and a Trump campaign official. "Instead of stopping in Phoenix, Kamala Harris should be visiting our southern border and seeing the firsthand results of her border bloodbath."