by WorldTribune Staff, May 14, 2021
On March 24, Kamala Harris was tasked by Joe Biden with handling the crisis at the U.S. southern border.
Since being tapped to be Team Biden’s border czar, Harris has not once visited the border or held a press conference on the border crisis.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Tuesday that it encountered 178,622 migrants in April trying to enter the U.S., a 3 percent increase over the 172,000 encountered in March, which had been the highest number in 20 years.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, in a letter to Biden dated May 12, said of Harris: “To date, her response to the border crisis has been absolutely abysmal, so I am requesting that she be replaced as your ‘border czar.’ ”
Harris has thus far only held “virtual meetings” with the leaders of Guatemala and Mexico. She is due to visit both countries, but not until next month.
Brnovich accused Harris of having shown “little interest” in seeing what is happening at the border and of not having articulated a plan to deal with the issue, instead traveling to other states.
Related: Kamala Harris finally visits a border state — New Hampshire, April 23, 2021
Brnovich, who previously invited Harris to the border, says that the new April numbers show that “things are getting worse and we do not yet know the full extent of dangerous people and drugs crossing into our communities.”
Harris should be replaced “with a federal official who is willing to see the crisis firsthand and to work with state partners to address it,” Brnovich wrote, also requesting new policies to increase transparency with Congress and the media.
Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a pro-immigration advocacy group, called the border situation “an emergency” and urged Harris to study every phase and hear from border agents and others who feel the immediate impact.
“You’re talking about people dying almost on a daily basis and detention centers that are overwhelmed,” Garcia said. “And policy really does have real-life implications that she needs to see.”
A new YouGov survey found that 48 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of Harris while 41 percent have a favorable view.
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