The U.S. House Thursday passed a Republican-led resolution condemning the president and Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, for the administration’s immigration policies.
Republicans announced they would move forward with the resolution hours after President Joe Biden suspended his reelection campaign and threw his support to Harris to become the new Democratic nominee to face off with former President Donald Trump this November.
The resolution, H.R. 1371, was introduced Wednesday. It passed 220-196 shortly before the House was due to leave for a six-week recess.
Six Democrats voted with Republicans: Reps. Yadira D. Caraveo of Colorado, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Mary Peltola of Alaska and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.
Immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border has remained a core campaign issue in the presidential elections and a top concern for voters.
Ahead of the vote, the White House Thursday put out a fact sheet pointing out that for the past seven weeks, encounters at the southern border have decreased by more than half, or 55%.
“While the President’s action has led to significant results, our nation’s immigration system requires Congressional action to provide needed resources and additional authorities,” the White House said.
‘Border czar’ label
Since Harris gained the necessary Democratic delegates to become the party’s likely nominee on Monday night, Republicans have criticized her for the Biden administration’s immigration policies and labeled her the “Border Czar,” inaccurately claiming it’s an official title given to her from the White House. It was also a title used in some media reports.
In March 2021, Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes of migration, in an effort to stem the flow of undocumented people at the southern border.
Harris was never given the title of “Border Czar,” but that title was officially given to Roberta Jacobson, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Jacobson’s role was created for a short stint — Biden’s first 100 days in office — before ending in April 2021.
Additionally, U.S.-Mexico border security is tasked to the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans in February impeached DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over policy disagreements. The Senate dismissed the articles of impeachment in April.
Republicans said Harris and the administration are one and the same. “She owns all of his failed border policies,” House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green of Tennessee said during debate Thursday.
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the resolution was “unserious,” and “nothing more than a campaign press release.”
“This resolution is only before this body because Vice President Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee for president,” Thompson said. “This resolution is incredibly petty.”
Republicans like Indiana Rep. Rudy Yakym and Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez again referred to Harris as a “Border Czar” and blamed her for the high number of encounters at the southern border.
Gimenez also criticized Harris for not visiting the southern border frequently. She made one trip to El Paso, Texas, which is a border town, in June 2021, but that was due to her work addressing the root causes of migration leading to the border problems.
Task was narrower, Dems say
Democrats argued that Harris was given a diplomatic role rather than a border security role.
Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, said that Harris was never a “Border Czar.”
“She was narrowly tasked with developing agreements that could help bring government and private sector investments to those countries that are sending migrants to the United States, so that those countries could help strengthen the conditions in those countries,” she said.
The White House in March said that Harris had secured about $5 billion in commitments from the private sector to promote economic opportunities in the region and reduce violence in Northern Central America.
The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragán of California, said that border security is the responsibility of Mayorkas and that Harris was never placed in charge of domestic immigration policy.
“Now they have a desperate resolution to blame Vice President Harris for the border,” she said of House Republicans.
