Left-wing activist groups are quietly expressing skepticism about Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent shift in rhetoric on the border, hoping that it is simply a political ploy. In the past, Harris has held more liberal views on immigration, but now her campaign is highlighting her endorsement of a failed Senate border bill from 2024 as evidence of her commitment to restoring order at the border, according to a report from Axios.
However, various left-leaning organizations are still standing firm in their opposition to the bill, leading some to question the true motivations behind Harris’ apparent change of heart.
One such group, Immigration Hub, reaffirmed their support for Harris, saying, “We all know and trust Harris to make the right decisions when she’s in office. I don’t think this bill will ever come up again, as is,” according to Kerri Talbot, the organization’s executive director. Other groups, like the Human Rights Campaign and the International Refugee Assistance Project, have made it clear that they would oppose Harris if she were to push for the Senate border bill as president.
According to Sunil Varghese, policy director for the International Refugee Assistance Project, the bill would “undermine asylum protections for LGBTQ+ people fleeing violence,” a stance that is in direct opposition to the views held by Harris’ campaign.
Despite requests for an interview from Axios, Harris’ campaign declined to make her available to discuss her position on the Senate border bill. Instead, the campaign has relied on Harris’ past experience as a prosecutor to convince voters that she is capable of enforcing the law and addressing illegal immigration. In one campaign advertisement, a narrator touts Harris’ background as a “border-state prosecutor” while images of the border wall are shown on the screen.
Harris’ past views on immigration have been decidedly more liberal. Before her second run for the presidency, Harris called for the decriminalization of illegal border crossings, referred to a border wall as “un-American,” and linked the immigration surge to a lack of “climate adaptation” in poor countries.
She also made controversial statements likening Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan and endorsing taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries for illegal immigrants.
Border Patrol Agent Lashes Out At Harris-Biden Admin, Calling Job 'Migrant Concierge Service' Amid Border Crisis https://t.co/ITZI6jNr0R
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 15, 2024
The Harris campaign did not provide a comment to Axios regarding their candidate’s past and present stances on immigration. While it is unclear how Harris’ views on immigration may continue to evolve, her newly adopted hawkish approach has left some left-leaning activists questioning her true intentions.
With the 2024 Senate border bill still a contentious issue, it remains to be seen how Harris and her campaign will navigate the complex and polarizing issue of immigration in the upcoming presidential election.