A recent poll by Reuters/Ipsos revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump among Latino voters by 13 points. The margin is even wider when looking into individual issues such as healthcare (18 points) and climate change (23 points). But one field where the Republican does hold a lead over Harris among Latinos is immigration, where he holds a 42 to 37 percent lead.
On Monday, Harris took a step toward addressing that gap, launching a comprehensive policy platform titled "New Way Forward" which, among other subjects, provides an in-depth look into what immigration could look like were she to win the November elections.
"Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are fighting for a New Way Forward that protects our fundamental freedoms, strengthens our democracy, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead", explains the introduction for the Democratic formula's new plan. "She promises to be a president for all Americans, a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, and a president who always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been her life's work."
The plan kicks off by acknowledging that the current immigration system is broken before offering an overview of the nature of the policies, pointing to "tough, smart solutions to secure the border, keep communities safe, and reform our broken immigration system."
The plan then goes on to layout Harris' immigration record, highlighting both her years as an Attorney general going "after drug gangs, human traffickers and cartels" to her time spent as VP where she spotlights her role in lowering border crossing to the lowest levels in 4 years, the seizure of record amounts of fentanyl and securing funds for the most significant increase in border agents in a decade.
As for her plans for the future, they seem to signal a continuation of the Biden administration's plans, while promising attempts to go deeper:
"As President, she will bring back the bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law. At the same time, she knows that our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform that includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship."
JD Vance Goes Off Against New Way Forward in a Sprawling X Thread
In a lengthy X thread published on Monday, Republican vice-president nominee JD Vance detailed his opinion on each of the policies brought forward on the "New War Forward" policy page. On the topic of immigration, Vance took exception to the current Veep's assertion that she wants to secure our borders, saying that, in his opinion, "her record tells a different story":
- Of her time as Attorney General, Vance claims that "one of the reasons why California has so much migrant crime is because it is a sanctuary state that shields illegal aliens from deportation" going on to imply that Harris' actions as the state's AG undermined any possibility of cooperation with federal immigration law. "It is safe to assume that there would have been a lot fewer migrant criminals to prosecute in California if the state and AG Kamala had allowed ICE agents to do their jobs and deport them."
- Of her efforts on the bipartisan border security bill, Vance said: "what she won't tell you is that the bill also codifies catch-and-release, allows up to 1.8 million illegals to enter before the border could be closed, gives billions of taxpayer dollars to the same NGOs that are driving the invasion and expands the executive parole powers used by Biden instead of limiting them."
- Of the decrease in border crossings, Vance said that, as a result of the Biden-Harris administrations initial executive orders in 2020 that stopped wall construction and rescinded several of Trump's border policies "America endured consecutive months record-breaking illegal immigration." He also said that "only once their Border Act was rejected, and border security consistently polled as a top concern of voters, did Biden and Harris issue orders that give the appearance that they care about illegal border crossings, concluding that "she cannot take credit for nominally lower border crossing numbers after she spent almost four years holding the border wide open."
7) Kamala Harris says she wants to secure our borders. Her record tells a different story:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
Harris touts her record prosecuting international criminals as California's Attorney General. One of the reasons why California has so much migrant crime is because it is a sanctuary state... pic.twitter.com/QnODI5a4Iz
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