Sep 18, 2024 - World

Harris says immigration reform and border security are possible

Astrid Galván

Kamala Harris speaks in front of a podium, holding her hands halfway up — The Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, addresses the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday told an audience of Hispanic leaders that it's possible to both secure the border and provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Why it matters: Immigrant advocates hope Harris' newly-hawkish border policy, which they see as MAGA-leaning, is a temporary shift, Axios' Alex Thompson writes.

Some leaders in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were critical of the Biden administration earlier this year when it pushed through a bill that would limit asylum.
The bill was blocked on the Senate floor but Harris has pledged to sign the bill if she wins and it passes in Congress.

Zoom in: During her speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's annual leadership conference in Washington, D.C., Harris zeroed in on the administration's work expanding health care access to participants of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects some immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.

She said the U.S. can "create an earned path to citizenship" and secure the border.
"We can do both and we must do both," Harris said.
"As we fight to move our nation forward to a bright future, Donald Trump and his extremist allies will keep trying to pull us backward. We all remember what they did to tear families apart and now they have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation."

Harris focused much of her speech on her family background and her work fighting for middle-class families and abortion rights.

"Today, 40% of Latinas live in a state with an abortion ban."

"Understand that the majority of women who seek abortion care are mothers, understand what that means for her" having to travel out of state to seek care, Harris said.

Zoom out: Latinos are a crucial and growing electorate that can swing the Nov. 5 election, especially in states like Arizona and Nevada.

As a former attorney general of California, Harris has a history of engaging Latinos. She's gained significant support among Latino voters since becoming the Democratic nominee but needs more to win in November.
Recent polling shows she hasn't won over enough Latino voters in Nevada and Arizona to ensure victory in those states.

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Editor's note: This story has been updated with Harris' comments about abortion rights.

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Harris says immigration reform and border security are possible

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