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Border Patrol Union Fact-Checks Harris’s Speech at Border

October 1, 2024

The National Border Patrol Council is taking Vice President Kamala Harris to task for pretending to care about America’s southern border after almost four years of failing in her duties as “border czar.”

Harris visited the southern border for the first time since 2021 on Friday, stopping in Douglas, Arizona, to deliver a speech. “There are consequential issues at stake in this election and one is the security of our border,” the vice president said. She continued, “The United States is a sovereign nation and I believe we have a duty to set rules at our border and to enforce them and I take that responsibility very seriously.” Harris added, “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 to become part of the American story.”

During her speech, Harris faulted former President Donald Trump for inaction on the nation’s border, despite the fact that Trump has not been in office for nearly four years and the incumbent Biden-Harris administration rescinded nearly all of the border security measures that Trump put in place during his presidency. “He prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” Harris claimed. “And the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games and their personal political future.”

Harris further claimed that she was responsible for increasing overtime pay for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. However, the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) quickly refuted the vice president’s claim. The labor union posted on social media, “Fact check on Harris speech in Douglas, Arizona: Today, VP Harris claimed that she played a role in increasing Border Patrol Agent overtime pay. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As with all things border related she was no where to be found when we needed her.” NBPC added, “VP Harris asserted in Arizona that CBP needed more resources. We have apprehended over 8 million illegal immigrants over the last 4 years and now you realize we need more help 38 days before the election.”

“Vice president Harris has ignored the border problem she created for over three years. She goes down there for 20 minutes for a photo op and decides to repeat some of the things the [NBPC] has said before. But again, where has she been the last 3 1/2 years?” the organization asked.

In 2021, shortly after taking office, President Joe Biden named Harris his “border czar” and tasked her with addressing border security. Since then, at least 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S., including violent criminals and gang members. Facing the unpopularity of her border failures — immigration is consistently ranked as one of the top two concerns for voters in polls, outpaced only by rampant inflation — Harris began parroting several of Trump’s policies, including his border security measures. The border wall which Trump funded, and which Biden and Harris have prevented from being completed, has even featured in her campaign ads.

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.