Vice President Harris outlines “orderly and secure” immigration plan, angering Trump in first border stop since his nomination

DOUGLAS, Ariz. – Vice President Harris made her first appearance at the southern border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee on Friday, delivering a speech in which she vowed to crack down on illegal immigration while sharply criticizing former President Trump.

““Anyone who crosses our borders unlawfully will be arrested and deported and not allowed to re-enter for five years,” Harris told an enthusiastic crowd in the gymnasium at Cochise County College’s Douglas campus, about two miles from the southern border.

“We will bring tougher criminal charges against repeat offenders and if someone fails to apply for asylum at a legal port of entry and instead crosses our border illegally, they will be denied asylum. However, we understand that many people are desperate to emigrate to the United States. Our system must be orderly and secure.

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Harris, touting her career as the border state’s attorney general, claimed that Trump earlier this year “shaked through” the “strongest border security law we’ve seen in decades” and argued that if it were law today, it would lead to “results “would lead. for the country.

“I promise you that as president of the United States, I will bring it up again and proudly sign it into law,” she said.

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Harris also promised to “understand how solutions emerge” and “think outside the box, and I will use common-sense approaches and new techniques to get the job done.”

“Because I know that transnational gangs could come across the border and trade weapons, drugs and people[n’t] “We don’t care who anyone voted for in the last election,” she said.

Harris added: “I will increase support for frontline law enforcement, more staffing, more training and more technology, including 100 new inspection systems that can detect fentanyl hidden in vehicles.”

Fentanyl was a common message in Harris’ speech, which she delivered after being introduced by Theresa Guerrero, whose son Jacob was killed by fentanyl poisoning at age 31.

“We will ensure that our ports of entry, including airports and seaports, have additional state-of-the-art technology to detect fentanyl and the chemical tools used to produce it,” Harris said. “I will also double the Justice Department’s resources to extradite and prosecute transnational criminal organizations and cartels.”

Harris added: “The United States is a sovereign nation, and I believe we have a duty to set and enforce rules at our border. And I take this responsibility very seriously. We are also a nation of immigrants. “The United States has been enriched by generations of people who have come from every corner of the world to contribute to our country and become part of the American story.”

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Harris claimed in her speech that Trump has done “nothing” to fix our “broken immigration system” during his four years as president.

“He hasn’t solved the shortage of immigration judges,” Harris said. “He has not addressed the shortage of border officials. He has not created any legitimate avenues into our country. “He has done nothing to address an outdated asylum system and has not worked with other governments in our hemisphere to address what is clearly also a regional challenge.”

“He separated families. He has torn infants from their mothers’ arms, put children in cages and tried to remove protections for dreamers. It has made the challenges at the border even worse. And he still is. And he is still stoking the flames of fear.” And let me be clear, that is not the job of a leader. And that, I think, is an abdication of leadership.

Harris signaled that she would find a path to citizenship for “Dreamers,” who she said are “Americans in every way.”

Harris told the crowd she would work with Democrats and Republicans to solve the border problem and said she opposed the “false choice” between securing the border and “creating a safe, orderly and humane immigration system.”

“We can and we must do both. We have to do both.”

Shortly before the speech, Harris walked across the southern border with two Border Patrol agents who briefed her on “their efforts to combat human traffickers and transnational criminal organizations,” according to the White House.

After that briefing, Harris rode in a motorcade to the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry in Douglas, where she was briefed on efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl at the border.

Harris’ speech outlining how she will combat illegal immigration comes as millions of illegal immigrants flooded the southern border during her tenure as vice president, drawing frequent criticism from Trump, Republicans and the Border Patrol union caused.

“After years of not only ignoring the problem but helping to cause it, Vice President Kamala is finally heading to the border,” the National Border Patrol Council said in a statement ahead of Harris’ visit. “This is nothing more than her checking the box, but what it really is is a slap in the face to the men and women who put their lives on the line every day, and also a slap in the face to the American public . Where was she?

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Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that at least 7.2 million illegal immigrants had entered the United States under President Biden, a number that exceeds the population of 36 states.

Harris faced criticism just hours before her speech after Immigration and Customs Enforcement released data showing that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and murder convictions are currently at large in the United States

Fox News polls released this week showed Trump with a 3-point lead in Arizona, after Harris had a one-point lead last month.

The 3-point shift in registered voters is largely due to movement among young voters, women and Hispanics.

Polls have also shown that the vast majority of Americans believe the southern border is a “problem” after nearly four years of the Biden-Harris administration, and recent Fox News polls show that Americans favor Trump by more than 10 on the economy percent more trust than Harris.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Dana Blanton contributed to this report

Original source of the article: Vice President Harris outlines “orderly and secure” immigration plan, angering Trump in first border stop since his nomination