Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris faced renewed scrutiny on Monday when an old clip of her promising to close down facilities that hold illegal immigrants resurfaced.
The clip, which was from 2019 when Harris was running to be the 2020 Democratic nominee, went viral as her campaign promises she intends to secure the border if she becomes president.
The footage showed an attendee at an event asking Harris, “I want to know, when you become president, would you be committing to close the immigration detention centers?”
“Absolutely, on day one,” Harris replied. “On day one.”
ARIZONA KAMALA HARRIS RALLY SPEAKERS COURT ‘JOHN MCCAIN REPUBLICANS’ AS MAN BRINGS VP BORDER MAP
Democratic presidential candidate (and future US Vice President) US Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks at the National Forum on Wages and Working People: Creating an Economy That Works for All at Enclave, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 27, 2019. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has taken a tougher stance on immigration, abandoning her former positions on the issue.
“I was attorney general of a border state. I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels and the human traffickers,” Harris told an audience at a recent rally. “I prosecuted them in case after case and I won, so I know what I’m talking about.”
“We know our immigration system is broken and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform. That includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship,” she added.
Republicans blasted Harris, saying her record on immigration has been one of lack security and open borders.
“Kamala Harris opened the border by design. She said she wanted to do it, she ran on doing it, and she governed from ‘day one’ to do it,” GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance wrote.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas warned, “When she tells you who she is… …believe her.”
“Can’t wait for a random Kamala campaign staffer to tell us she doesn’t think this anymore,” conservative digital strategist Greg Price wrote.
Latin American migrants take part in a caravan towards the border with the United States, in Huehuetan, Chiapas state, Mexico, on June 7, 2022. – (Photo by Isaac GUZMAN / AFP) (Photo by ISAAC GUZMAN/AFP via Getty Images) (Isaac Guzman/AFP via Getty Images)
“Kamala Harris doesn’t just want to decriminalize illegal border crossings, she wants to free all criminal illegal aliens. Kamala’s open border policies would lead to more dead Americans like Laken Riley,” Donald Trump Jr., said.
“Harris’ platform: no border, no nation, no deportation,” former Trump White House senior adviser Stephen Miller wrote.
“Did she just admit this out loud?” tech entrepreneur Michael Seifert asked.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, argued that this incident speaks volumes about progressives.
“The left doesn’t just stop at crime and open borders, they are moving to no borders,” he wrote. “They want anyone to walk in and feast on massive government programs paid for by taxpayers and debt (destroying the dollar).”
As of the July 2024 fiscal year, more than 37,000 migrants were being held across 18 private detention facilities, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) data. Just over 10,000 of those migrants have criminal records while about 4,600 have pending criminal charges.
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Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
