Vice President Kamala Harris will make a trip to the southern border today, the first time she has been to the border since 2021 and a sign that her campaign knows she has a problem on immigration.
Harris isn’t expected to announce any major new policy ground on the trip. According to Politico, she will call for enforcement of existing laws, more resources for border patrol agents and fentanyl detecting machines.
Remember that the most precious commodity in a campaign is the candidate’s time. Which means every single place a candidate goes this close to the election is with a specific purpose.
The purpose here is simple: Harris knows that immigration is the toughest issue for her in this race. Donald Trump has made illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaigns dating all the way back to 2016 (The Wall!) and has hammered Harris (and President Joe Biden) on their handling of the issue nearly every day of the 2024 race.
Trump’s proposal to mass deport the millions of people in the country illegally may be logistically impossible but a majority of the public supports it. It’s a simple solution — and people are drawn to simple solutions to complex problems.
Harris has struggled to make the case that the Biden administration’s border policies are working — although illegal border crossings are very low right now — amid polling that suggests it is one of the major issues of the election and people trust Trump more than Harris on it.
Harris won’t win the immigration issue but this trip is aimed at trying to keep her from losing it badly.
Need more proof of the push the Harris team is putting on when it comes to immigration? They rolled out a new TV ad this morning in conjunction with the visit — highlighting her tough approach to the border.
My radical proposal? Harris should, sometime soon, break publicly with Biden on the border. Say something like “We believed the policies we put in place were the right ones. They have not worked as well as we had hoped. I have a new and tougher plan.”
That would kill two birds with one stone: It would make Harris look tough on immigration (and maybe have people take a second look at her on the issue) while also getting her some distance from the unpopular Biden.
Just a thought!
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The Morning: Why is Kamala Harris going to the border?