House Republicans, joined by six Democrats, passed a resolution strongly condemning “border czar” Vice President Kamala Harris on her “failure to secure the southern border.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), GOP Conference chairwoman, introduced the resolution that garnered a 220-196 vote.
While border patrol officials recorded over the past few weeks the lowest numbers of illegal migrant crossings, Harris’s role in addressing the root problem of migration from Central American countries was brought back to light following President Joe Biden’s endorsement of her as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Harris’s campaign team is mobilizing, having raised more than $100 million since she entered the race as a presidential candidate. In response, Republicans are looking to remind the public about the three-year period when more than 8 million illegal migrants crossed the border following Harris’s speech in which she told migrants “do not come.”
Harris was never appointed to be a “border czar,” but she was tasked with “finding the root cause of migration,” which led to her being “known colloquially as the Biden administration’s ‘border czar.’”
“No matter what congressional district you go to, the number one issue facing Americans is Kamala Harris’s open border crisis,” Stefanik said on the floor. “The American people deserve elected officials who understand the gravity of the crisis at the border.”
Here are the six Democrats who have sided with Republicans on pinning the border crisis on Harris.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)
Serving in Congress since 2019, Golden has a record of voting against his party on border security bills. Back in 2022, he introduced legislation that aimed to strengthen Customs and Border Protection recruitment in rural areas.
Although Golden has a strong record of supporting border security, he also faces a tight reelection, as the Cook Political Report labeled his race a “political toss-up.” In 2020, former President Donald Trump won Golden’s district.
Golden was already on the record saying he wouldn’t commit to supporting Biden due to his health and age concerns and said at least Harris was “capable of finishing the next four-year term.”
He then contradicted himself Thursday when he said, at this time, he is “absolutely not” committing to voting for Harris and is “going to wait and see what she puts forward and what her vision for the future of the country is.”
Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO)
In her first term as a representative, similar to Golden, Caraveo’s race has been deemed a tight one.
However, despite condemning Harris for failing to secure the border, Caraveo has supported Harris’s run for the presidency.
“I’m eager to elect her as the 47th President of the United States come November,” Caraveo said.
Rep. Don Davis (D-NC)
Davis is another freshman representative who has been a major critic of the Biden administration’s approach to securing the southern border. Davis was one of 14 House Democrats in March to denounce Biden for his handling of the border crisis. In April, Davis visited the border himself.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA)
Perez, another freshman representative, joined Golden and Davis in May, saying Biden’s executive order on asylum was not good enough.
“Border security must be the top national security priority for President Biden,” the statement read. “These proposed changes do not give the Border Patrol the authority it needs to bring order to our southern border, and the proposed changes will not be enough to stop the drug cartels from trafficking fentanyl over the border and into communities across America.”
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
Currently facing criminal charges for bribery, Cuellar is another House Democrat who has joined in on blaming Harris for her lack of action at the southern border. Cuellar’s district includes cities and towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. In March, he launched a Democratic border security group.
“It’s important for Democrats to talk about strong border security and still be respectful of immigrants’ rights,” Cuellar told reporters in March. “For so long, the Republicans have had a narrative about the border being a dangerous place and out of control. And I think it’s important that Democrats also have a narrative about border security.”
Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK)
Elected in 2022, Peltola has made stopping the spread of fentanyl central to her time in office. She has crossed the aisle multiple times to vote with Republicans in favor of securing the border.
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“No one can deny we face an ongoing crisis at our southern border. Currently, fentanyl flows across it and all the way up to Alaska, where it continues to tear families and communities apart,” Peltola said in a statement. “We must take real action to address our ongoing border crisis — that’s why I voted to pass this measure and stop cartels in their tracks.”
