With just over a month to go before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to a location many believe highlights the biggest failure of her time in office: the U.S.-Mexico border. After being tasked by President Joe Biden in 2021 to address the “root causes” of illegal immigration, Harris has presided over a period marked by record numbers of illegal immigrants entering the country, leaving many to question her effectiveness on the issue.
On Friday, Harris visited Douglas, Arizona, a key site along the southern border. But even before her arrival, the reaction was swift and pointed. The National Border Patrol Council, representing the rank and file of Border Patrol agents, wasted no time in denouncing her visit. Art Del Cueto, the council’s vice president, issued a scathing statement calling Harris’s visit “a slap in the face to the American public” and especially to the Border Patrol agents who risk their lives on a daily basis.
Del Cueto’s anger was evident. He expressed frustration that Harris’s visit comes after years of what he described as neglect, saying, “What it is in reality is a slap in the face towards the men and women that put their lives on the line every day.” His questions echo the sentiments of many who are baffled by Harris’s decision to visit the border now, after avoiding it for much of her time in office. “Where has she been?” Del Cueto asked, capturing the frustration of Border Patrol agents and many Americans who feel the administration has failed to secure the border.
This was Harris’s first visit to the border since 2021, when she made a brief appearance in El Paso, Texas, shortly after taking office. Her trip comes at a time when the border crisis continues to escalate. Just last December, border patrol agents saw record-high migrant encounters, according to Pew Research, fueling further discontent over the administration’s handling of the situation.
Harris’s critics argue that her visit is nothing more than a political move aimed at shoring up support for the Biden-Harris administration in the run-up to the 2024 election. For many voters, especially those in border states like Arizona and Texas, her presence at the border only serves as a reminder of how much more secure the situation was under former President Donald Trump. His administration had implemented policies that, according to many, were effective in curbing illegal immigration and strengthening border security.
Del Cueto’s remarks align with what many conservatives have been saying for years: the Biden-Harris approach to immigration has been ineffective and dangerous. The past three years have seen a surge of migrants crossing the southern border, straining resources and creating security risks for border communities and beyond. Harris’s decision to visit now, critics argue, feels hollow and too little, too late.
Given the sharp contrast between the border policies under Trump and those under Biden, it’s hard to see how this trip could win over undecided voters. For many, the numbers speak for themselves, and Harris’s visit does little to change the reality on the ground. Instead, it may simply serve as a reminder of the administration’s failures in handling what has become one of the most crucial issues of the election.
As the election approaches, immigration and border security remain at the forefront of voters’ minds. Harris’s trip to Douglas, Arizona, intended to show the administration’s commitment to the issue, might backfire, especially given the heated response from Border Patrol officials. The vice president’s political ambitions may be further undermined by her failure to deliver real solutions to the crisis at the border—a crisis that is unlikely to be forgotten come November.
