United States – Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to the United States – Mexico border on Friday, the White House announced on Wednesday, in Harris’ first trip to the polarizing southern frontier since being nominated by the DNC.
First Time to Border Since DNC Nomination
Harris, during her trip to Douglas, Arizona, will be discussing border security and how she has been leading the charge on “the toughest bipartisan border security plan in a generation.” As the campaign aide said, the plan contains an increase in new border agents and technological measures that will aid in combating fentanyl, as reported by Reuters.
Key Focus on Combating Fentanyl
“As a former attorney general from a border state, she prosecuted international gangs and criminal organizations importing drugs, guns, and humans and has long called for immigration that can be made secure, reasonable, effective, and compassionate — a complete opposite of the Donald Trump’s reckless migration policies,” the campaign aide described.
She was the first woman and person of color to serve as the attorney general of California before joining the U.S. Senate and, in 2020, the vice president. She went there in 2021.
Trump, Harris’ Republican opponent, has turned into an anti-immigration campaigner, especially to the country’s south ahead of the November 5 election. The former president has publicly attacked Harris over border policy on several occasions.
Harris said in an interview with CNN last month that she would ramp up a campaign for new border legislation that would strengthen enforcement in migratory flows into the United States.
Immigration Concerns and Voter Sentiment Ahead of the Election
It is worth noting that immigration is still one of the most significant concerns for voters. There was a recent New York Times/Siena poll in which only 54% of the participants expected Trump to do a better job on the issue relative to Harris; 43% of the participants so believed, as reported by Reuters.
Republicans in the Senate voted down a border measure in February that had been negotiated with Democrats and that Trump had urged them to oppose. Both Biden and Harris have accused Trump of wanting the border to remain politically charged.