VP Kamala Harris unveils 5-pillar strategy to combat the border crisis. It says virtually nothing about the border.



Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday released her long-anticipated plan to combat the ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border. Unsurprisingly, the plan has scarcely anything to offer as far as the actual border goes.

In fact, the plan, released without a news conference, "does not include a detailed timeline or specific policy actions to be taken" at all, The Hill reported Thursday. Instead, the administration argued the problem could be resolved with greater "engagement" with Central American countries and more "humane" immigration practices, generally.

In a statement introducing the "Root Causes Strategy," the White House touted Harris's five-pillar plan as a core component of the administration's efforts to "establish a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system" through "various U.S. government tools, including diplomacy, foreign assistance, public diplomacy, and sanctions."

But instead of offering concrete solutions to secure the country's southern border amid an unprecedented surge of migrants, the administration deferred to using feel-good language and offering abstract aspirations about addressing the "humanitarian" crisis in Central America.

The lofty, feel-good language can be felt in the plan's stated five pillars, which go as follows, according to a White House fact sheet:

  • Pillar I: Addressing economic insecurity and inequality;
  • Pillar II: Combating corruption, strengthening democratic governance, and advancing the rule of law;
  • Pillar III: Promoting respect for human rights, labor rights, and free press;
  • Pillar IV: Countering and preventing violence, extortion, and other crimes perpetrated by criminal gangs, trafficking networks, and other organized criminal organizations; and
  • Pillar V: Combating sexual, gender-based, and domestic violence.

Nowhere in the five-pillar plan does Harris — who was tasked with managing the border crisis in March — mention anything about border enforcement. One would think that U.S. border enforcement ought to be of utmost importance for the U.S. vice president. But judging by the details of the plan, it seems as if Harris is more concerned with crafting government policy for Central American countries.

Don't worry, Harris indicates to the American people as scores of migrants continue to surge the border — 50,000 of them released into the country without court dates — she and President Biden "have restarted our nation's engagement in Central America and diplomatic efforts with Central American governments."

That promise will likely not come as a relief to border-town Americans and others whose lives are being upended by the border crisis.

Besides, political "engagement" usually means more than talks and vague cooperation. It means dollars, and Harris admits as much in her plan when she says, "We have already received commitments from the governments of Mexico, Japan, and Korea, and the United Nations, to join the United States in providing relief to the region" (emphases added).

In her coverage of the news, HotAir's Karen Townsend noted that all the "fuzzy feel-good language" just means that "the Biden administration is offering up pallets of cash for corrupt Central American leaders [who] will line their pockets and those within their inner circles." Instead, she argued:

Here's what should be happening, if this administration can, in fact, walk and chew gum at the same time. There should be attention paid to the southern border before we worry about long-term solutions to anything. The Biden border crisis is an immediate humanitarian and public health crisis. All the other stuff is unicorns and rainbows and hopes for later in a better world. Who is in charge of the present real-life crisis? It's not DHS and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, obviously. He's still denying the crisis and at the same time claiming everything is under control.

The crux of the matter may be that the administration simply doesn't see the immigration problem as just that — a problem.

One senior administration official acknowledged, "We're not seeking to end migration as part of the fabric of this region ... what we're seeking to change is the ways in which people migrate, to provide an alternative to the criminal smuggling and trafficking rings and to give people access to opportunity and protection through safe legal channels, safe legal pathways."

Kamala Harris laughs, deflects when grilled about not visiting border: 'I haven't been to Europe,' either



Vice President Kamala Harris suffered a cringeworthy moment Monday when she laughed — and literally waved off — pointed questions about her continued absence from the U.S.-Mexico border, saying she hasn't "been to Europe," either.

What happened?

During an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt set to air in full on Tuesday, Harris repeatedly deflected questions in regard to her failure to visit the border amid the country's ongoing immigration crisis — which, as it happens, she was appointed to manage.

In a portion of the interview shown by NBC's "Today" show, Holt pressed the vice president on the issue, noting that both Republicans and Democrats have criticized her for it.

"The question that has come up and you heard it here and you'll hear it again I'm sure," Holt said. "Why not visit the border? Why not see what Americans are seeing in this crisis?"

"Well, we are going to the border," Harris answered. "We have to deal with what's happening at the border, there's no question about that. That's not a debatable point. But we have to understand that there's a reason people are arriving at our border and ask what is that reason and then identify the problem so we can fix it."

Vice President Harris: There Is Not A 'Quick Fix' For Border Crisis youtu.be

Unsatisfied with Harris's response, Holt circled back later in the interview to press Harris again, asking, "Do you have any plans to visit the border?"

The vice president appeared visibly frustrated at the line of questioning, and exasperatedly dismissed her visiting the border as a non-issue.

"At some point, you know, we are going to the border," she replied, waving her arms in dismay. "We've been to the border. So this whole thing about the border. We've been to the border. We've been to the border."

Holt then shot back: "You haven't been to the border."

"And I haven't been to Europe!" Harris exclaimed, laughing. "And I mean — I don't understand the point that you're making."

What else?

Prior to the interview, Harris had spent time on a visit to Guatemala on Monday, where she was greeted by protesters holding signs telling her to "go home" and that "Trump won."

At the same time, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei blasted the Biden administration, declaring that they bear much of the blame for the current migrant crisis.

Harris has previously denounced claims that she must visit the border as "political games." Her team has instead aimed to distance Harris from the border crisis by claiming she is working on a "diplomatic level" to resolve the issue.

Biden off-loads another hot-button political issue onto VP Harris — this time it's 'voting rights'



Vice President Kamala Harris will now be leading the charge on two areas of major policy concern for the Biden administration — first the border crisis, and now, voting rights.

What are the details?

President Joe Biden announced this week that Harris, despite fierce criticism over her handling of the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border, would lead the administration's efforts on the important matter.

Since taking office in January, Biden has been vehemently critical of election security reforms being advanced by Republican-led legislatures in states like Georgia, Florida, and Texas — often mischaracterizing or outright lying about what the laws seek to accomplish.

Once again portraying Republican efforts as "un-American" and "assaults on democracy" in a speech Tuesday, the president relayed that Harris's appointment signifies how seriously the administration takes the issue.

"To signify the importance of our efforts, today I'm asking Vice President Harris to help these efforts and lead them, among her many other responsibilities," Biden said while commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

"With her leadership and your support, we're going to overcome again, I promise you. But it's going to take a hell of a lot of work," he added.

Democrats, coming off a presidential election win, seem to have a vested interest in preserving the extraordinary pandemic-related relaxation of voting rules that took place in 2020. They have framed the issue as one of voting rights.

Republicans, on the other hand, have argued that the measures are needed to ensure the integrity of the electoral system, especially following an election that many Republican voters believe was subject to rampant abuse and fraud.

Why does it matter?

Given that the issue is certainly a hot-button one in today's politics, it is somewhat curious that Biden has chosen to offload it onto Harris.

Perhaps the appointment is seen as a second chance for Harris after fumbling the border crisis response. More than likely it will serve for her as an escape from the scrutiny surrounding her management of the immigration crisis.

After all, CNN reported this week that Harris' team has been trying to "distance her from the fraught situation at the border."

In addition to raising questions about Harris, the appointment may also serve as fuel for critics to raise questions about Biden's vigor. It hasn't yet been a year into his presidency and already Biden has delegated two of the most sensitive political issues facing him to his younger second-in-command.

VP Harris — in charge of border response — calls demands that she actually visit the border ‘political games’



Vice President Kamala Harris, the point person for managing the ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border, argued on Sunday that those suggesting she actually visit the border are "playing political games."

What are the details?

Harris — who has yet to visit the border since being put in charge of the crisis more than a month ago — made the claim in an interview with a local New Hampshire news outlet while she was in the Granite State to tout the Biden administration's infrastructure plan.

"Republicans are attacking you, saying you shouldn't be in New Hampshire talking about infrastructure, you should be at the southern border talking about immigration," a reporter with WMUR-TV said before asking, "How do you respond to that?"

"I'm not going to play political games," Harris shot back.

(The exchange happens at the 1:25 mark in the video below.)

CloseUp: 1-on-1 with Vice President Kamala Harris www.youtube.com

The vice president then immediately pivoted into a stump speech about the Biden's "American Jobs Plan" — the behemoth $2 trillion spending package, described as an infrastructure bill, which ironically spends next to nothing on highways, bridges, and roads in comparison to the money it doles out for progressive policy initiatives.

What else?

The WMUR-TV reporter framed the question by noting objections from Republicans. However, the vice president's failure to visit the border, or even so much as hold a press conference on the border crisis, has drawn some scrutiny from the left, as well.

The Daily Beast ran in article last week headlined, "Where in the World Is Kamala Harris? Spoiler: Not at the Border."

"Who's afraid of the big, bad border? Vice President Kamala Harris, apparently," the left-wing media outlet asked.

Anything else?

Harris was appointed by President Joe Biden on March 24 to lead the administration's efforts to stem migration amid the current surge, which has resulted in thousands of unaccompanied minors being held in grim, cage-like facilities along the U.S. southern border.

Tens of thousands more adult migrants have been released directly into the U.S., presumably without court dates, as the administration struggles to maintain the rapid influx of migrants flooding the country in anticipation of lenient treatment from the new president.

A senior administration official said at the time that Harris, working with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries — El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — would focus on curbing "the current flow of migrants and implementing a long-term strategy that addresses the root causes of migration."