Vance at border blames Harris for illegal immigration
Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance has blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for illegal immigration during a visit to the United States-Mexico border in Arizona, asserting migrants are overwhelming US schools and hospitals.
Vance, speaking in front of the border wall in the town of Hereford, called Harris a failed “border czar” and said she should have worked with US agencies to deal with illegal crossings, even though Harris was tasked with a narrower role of addressing migration from northern Central America.
“Kamala Harris as border czar was asked to co-ordinate all these functions in government and she’s done nothing,” he said.
Republicans have tried to hold Harris responsible for high levels of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden, a Democrat who dropped his presidential bid last month.
Biden’s exit paved the way for Harris to become the likely nominee.
Harris has responded by emphasising her support for a bipartisan US Senate border security bill introduced earlier this year.
Republicans rejected the bill after Trump came out in opposition.
“Donald Trump does not care about border security,” Harris said during a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“He only cares about himself.”
While the number of migrants caught illegally crossing the border soared to record levels under Biden – with seven million arrested during his time in office, according to government data – they have plummeted since Biden issued new border restrictions in June.
US Border Patrol caught about 57,000 migrants crossing illegally in July, two US officials told Reuters, the lowest monthly total since September 2020 when Trump was still president.
Vance, a Republican US senator from Ohio who often speaks of his childhood exposure to drug addiction, said Harris’ policies had allowed fentanyl to enter the country.
Vance said children in the US “feel overwhelmed with migrant children who shouldn’t be there” and that hospital wait times “have exploded” because migrants are seeking healthcare.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately provide supporting evidence for either assertion.
“The human toll of this is the thing that we cannot forget,” Vance said.
Meanwhile, delegates to the Democratic National Convention have begun to officially select their nominee for president.
The process kicked off on Thursday morning but it is unlike in past years when the selection was done in the raucous atmosphere of the convention floor or even during the convention itself.
Instead, they are filling out electronic ballots at their homes, offices or holiday spots more than two weeks before the first delegate steps foot inside Chicago’s United Center.
The virtual roll call will allow Harris to claim the nomination by Monday evening.
with Reuters
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