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6 House Democrats vote to condemn Harris on border policies

Erik Wasson and Billy House, Bloomberg News on

Published in News & Features

WASHINGTON — Six swing-district House Democrats joined Republicans Thursday in voting to condemn Vice President Kamala Harris over the administration’s performance in combating illegal migration.

One attack line Republican presidential Donald Trump and allies have settled on is linking Harris to the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border, where an influx of migrants has strained communities across the country. Voters have cast the border as a signature issue in the election and Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations if elected — floating use of the military to do so.

The Republican-backed House resolution describes Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, as Joe Biden’s “border czar,” taking up a label Trump and his allies have given. It condemns her for “failure to secure the border.”

Dealing with the root causes of migration was one of the issues in Harris’ portfolio at the start of the administration and she faced mounting criticism as the border situation worsened and lawmakers and the White House failed to agree on a legislative solution.

Biden eventually took executive action to curb asylum claims after Trump pressured Republicans to kill a bipartisan deal that would have provided more border resources. U.S. border officials have logged a steep decline in illegal crossings since the asylum restrictions started.

 

Other officials in the administration have greater responsibility for the situation, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The House voted to impeach Mayorkas in February, though no Democrats supported that move. The secretary was acquitted in the Senate.

Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Mary Peltola of Alaska, Don Davis of North Carolina and Yadira Caraveo of Colorado joined 214 Republicans voting in favor of the resolution targeting Harris.

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(With assistance from Ellen M. Gilmer.)


©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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