‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (2024)

Vice President Kamala Harris might soon get a new official title: 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. In the meantime, Republicans have revived a title they gave her in 2021: "border czar."

Claims that President Joe Biden named Harris the "border czar" and that she is responsible for overseeing U.S. border enforcement gained prominence at the Republican National Convention as the party sought to link her to his immigration policy.

The refrain intensified once Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris. It was echoed in ads and by Trump campaign surrogates, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

"Here’s Biden appointing Kamala Harris to be his border czar to deal with illegal immigration," a narrator says in a video the Republican National Committee posted on its X account, @GOP. "And here are a record number of illegal immigrants — 10 million and counting — flooding over the border after Harris was put in charge of stopping illegal immigration."

We’ve repeatedly fact-checked claims about the number of people entering the U.S. illegally under Biden. The federal data tracks how many times officials encountered a person trying to cross the southern border, but it doesn’t reflect the number of people let in. And if one person tries to cross the border multiple times, that counts as multiple encounters, even if it’s the same person.

For this fact-check, we’re focused on the scope of Harris’ border responsibilities.

"Border Czar Kamala Harris' reversal of President Trump's immigration policies has created an unprecedented and illegal immigration, humanitarian and national security crisis on our southern border," Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told PolitiFact in a statement.

But Biden didn’t put Harris in charge of overseeing border security.

In a meeting with Harris in March 2021, Biden said Harris would lead U.S. diplomatic efforts and work with officials in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to stem migration to the U.S. Biden said that when he was vice president, he "got a similar assignment" and that the Obama administration secured $700 million to help countries in Central America.

"One of the ways we learned is that if you deal with the problems in country, it benefits everyone. It benefits us, it benefits the people, and it grows the economies there," Biden said then.

Biden asked Harris "to be the chief diplomatic officer with Central American countries" and address the root causes that make people leave their home countries, said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director for the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

Managing the border "has always been" the Homeland Security secretary’s role, Mittelstadt said.

Harris’ responsibility: Address foreign issues that contribute to migration

Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes influencing people’s decisions to migrate to the United States.

"I’ve asked her … to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border," Biden said in March 2021.

Biden held a similar role as vice president to former President Barack Obama. In a 2015 New York Times opinion piece, Biden said he would work with the Northern Triangle’s leaders on security, anti-corruption and investment efforts in the region.

"Donald Trump’s administration didn’t really sustain this strategy, but what Harris sought to revive in 2021 ran along the same lines," said Adam Isacson, defense oversight director at Washington Office on Latin America, a group advocating for human rights in the Americas.

Within weeks of Biden’s remarks about Harris’ role, Republicans including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., began calling Harris the "border czar" often in tandem with pointing out she had not yet been to the border.

In April 2021, when a reporter asked Harris whether she would visit the border, she said that her role is addressing the factors that make people leave their home countries, not managing the border.

Featured Fact-check

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (1)

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (2)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

stated on June 27, 2024 in an X livestream

Border Patrol agents take migrants "to the Yuma airport, put them on a plane to any destination they want. ... And they pay their ticket. And then they get reimbursement from FEMA."

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (3)

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (4)

"The president has asked (Homeland Security) Secretary (Alejandro) Mayorkas to address what is going on at the border. And he has been working very hard at that, and it’s showing some progress because of his hard work," Harris said at an event. "I have been asked to lead the issue of dealing with root causes in the Northern Triangle, similar to what the then-vice president did many years ago."

Harris said she’d focus on economic struggles, violence, corruption and food insecurity in the countries.

In June 2021, Harris visited El Paso, Texas, with Mayorkas. They outlined their responsibilities to reporters. Harris said she was addressing "the root causes of migration, predominantly out of Central America," and Mayorkas said, "It is my responsibility as the Secretary of Homeland Security to address the security and management of our border."

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (5)

Vice President Kamala Harris holds a press conferenceJune 25, 2021, at the airport after her tour of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. (AP)

But this distinction didn’t stop critics from linking Harris with U.S.-Mexico border security.

"The administration’s messaging on this in mid-2021 was not as clear as it should have been," Isacson said. "But at no time did Harris or the White House state that her duties included the U.S.-Mexico border, or border security."

What has Harris done to address immigration’s ‘root causes’?

Immigration experts said it’s hard to measure Harris’ success in her role, and that a "root causes" approach implies that the results will be seen long term, not immediately.

In July 2021, the administration published a strategy, with Harris writing the lead message, for confronting the factors that drive migration in Central America. The plan focused on economic insecurity, corruption, human rights, criminal gang violence and gender-based violence.

In March 2024, the administration said it secured more than $5.2 billion in private sector investments to the region. However, only about $1 billion has been distributed, the Partnership for Central America, a group working with the administration, reported.

The White House said the investments have generated more than 70,000 new jobs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, provided job training to 1 million people and expanded digital access to 4.5 million people.

"Still, her engagement on this issue has been sporadic," Isacson said. "She has not traveled very often to the region or otherwise sought to make ‘root causes in Central America’ a central theme of her vice presidency."

Illegal immigration at the U.S. southern border from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador has dropped since 2021. Encounters with people from other countries, Venezuela, have risen.

"But it’s hard to prove that U.S. assistance is a central reason" for the Northern Triangle countries’ decline, Isacson said.

The issues pushing people to leave Central American countries "are extremely complex and require deep restructuring of so much in those societies," said Cecilia Menjivar, a sociology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who specializes on immigration. "So it’s very difficult for one person to change all that, even if it is a powerful person."

Immigration patterns at the U.S.-Mexico border have more to do with conditions in Latin American countries than "any U.S. policy," Mittelstadt said.

For example, a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has displaced nearly 8 million people since 2014, according to the United Nations. Political, economic and security crises in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Ecuador have also led to more migration from these countries, Mittelstadt said.

In contrast, immigration encounters with people from El Salvador have dropped in past years, partly because of the country’s crime crackdown.

Our ruling

The Republican National Committee said Biden appointed Harris "to be his border czar to deal with illegal immigration...Harris was put in charge of stopping illegal immigration."

Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes that drive migration to the United States. He did not task her with controlling who and how many people enter the southern U.S. border. That's the Homeland Security secretary’s responsibility.

Experts say that seeing the results of addressing root causes driving people out of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — violence, economic insecurity and corruption — takes time.

The statement contains an element of truth, but it ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False.

‘Border czar’? GOP talking point distorts VP Harrris’ role (2024)

FAQs

Why is Kamala Harris important? ›

Harris, if nominated by Democrats and elected, would be the first woman to serve as president, the first president of South Asian descent and the second Black president. She joined the U.S. Senate in 2017 after a career in California state politics.

What is a border czar? ›

Where did the term 'border czar' come from? When Trump was president, he used the term border czar when he created a White House position to coordinate border policy and appointed Tom Homan, who had previously served as acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to the role.

What religion is Kamala Harris? ›

The Black Church tradition also influenced Harris. “The vice president has a strong Christian faith that she's talked about a lot,” said Jamal Simmons, a pastor's son and Harris' former communications director. As a Democratic strategist, he has helped candidates make inroads with faith communities.

What are some interesting facts about Kamala Harris? ›

Before taking office, Harris represented California in the U.S. Senate (2017–21); she was the first Indian American to serve as a U.S. senator as well as the second African American woman. Harris was previously California's attorney general (2011–17).

What is Kamala Harris fighting for? ›

She has led the fight for the freedom of women to make decisions about their own bodies, the freedom to live safe from gun violence, the freedom to vote, and the freedom to drink clean water and breathe clean air.

How is Kamala Harris a great leader? ›

Relatability and credibility

"Kamala appears to have a rare ability to deliver powerful messages under intense scrutiny, with grace and gravitas. But perhaps more importantly, she comes across as relatable and authentically herself: she is alert, yet relaxed and comfortable in her own skin.

What is the role of the czar? ›

Czar, sometimes spelled tsar, is an informal title used for certain high-level officials in the United States and United Kingdom, typically granted broad power to address a particular issue.

What is czar short for? ›

Czar is a Russian word for ruler or emperor. Those kinds of czars are long gone, but we still use the word to describe people in charge of something important. Up until the early 20th century, the ruler in Russia was a man called a czar who had total power, like an emperor or dictator.

What is a czar in politics? ›

In the United States, the informal political term "czar" or "tsar" is employed in media and popular usage to refer to high-level officials who oversee a particular policy.

What is Kamala Harris ideology? ›

Political orientation

Harris was described by The New York Times in 2020 as a pragmatic moderate, with policy positions that broadly mirror those of Biden.

Is Kamala D Harris a Democrat? ›

A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021 and the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

What ethnicity is Kamala Harris father? ›

Kamala's father, Donald Harris, is Jamaican American. And while Harris has described her mother as the more formative parent in her life, Porter, who is also half Black, says the two of them understood what it meant to be seen as Black women in America at a young age.

How tall is the vice president? ›

Joe Biden, the current president, is 6 feet 0 inches (183 centimeters) according to a physical examination summary from February 2024. Kamala Harris, the current vice president, is 5 feet 41⁄2 inches (164 centimeters).

Is Kamala Harris' husband the second husband? ›

Douglas Craig Emhoff (born October 13, 1964) is an American lawyer who is the second gentleman of the United States. He is married to the 49th vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris. As the first husband of a vice president, Emhoff is the first second gentleman in American federal history.

What did Kamala Harris do before she was president? ›

After graduating from law school, Harris spent three decades as a prosecutor, serving as a deputy district attorney for Oakland's Alameda County before she was elected in 2004 to be district attorney of San Francisco.

Why is Kamala Harris important to Women's History Month? ›

Kamala Harris recently made history after she was the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American to be elected and inaugurated Vice President of the United States.

What is the major accomplishment of Kamala Harris? ›

She was elected attorney general of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Harris served as the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021; she defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second African-American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

What did Kamala Harris do to become famous? ›

Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, has had a career with many firsts: She became the country's first Indian American senator when she was inaugurated in 2017. She is California's first female and South Asian attorney general.

What did Kamala Harris do before she was elected? ›

Political and legal career

In 2003, Harris became the District Attorney of San Francisco. She worked as the attorney general of California until 2017 when she became a senator for California.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Aron Pacocha

Last Updated:

Views: 5506

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (68 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Aron Pacocha

Birthday: 1999-08-12

Address: 3808 Moen Corner, Gorczanyport, FL 67364-2074

Phone: +393457723392

Job: Retail Consultant

Hobby: Jewelry making, Cooking, Gaming, Reading, Juggling, Cabaret, Origami

Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.