Special Poll
Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted endorsements from mayors of border towns in Arizona on Monday, aiming to counter Republican criticism of her handling of illegal border crossings.
Harris’s campaign announced support from the mayors of Bisbee, Nogales, Somerton, and San Luis, as well as Yuma County Supervisors Martin Porchas and Tony Reyes.
With less than 100 days until Election Day and just a week into her new role as the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris is actively refining her campaign strategy. Republicans are focusing on the border issue, trying to turn it into a political liability for Harris, similar to how they targeted President Joe Biden before he ended his reelection bid.
Republicans argue that Harris, labeled as Biden’s “border czar,” failed to effectively address illegal immigration. Last week, House Republicans and some vulnerable Democrats voted to criticize Harris over the administration’s border policies.
The endorsements from Arizona border town mayors and officials offer Harris a counter to this criticism, particularly in the swing state that shares a border with Mexico.
“I trust her to meet the needs of border cities and towns without taking advantage of us for her own political gain, like her opponent,” stated Somerton Mayor Gerardo Anaya. Somerton is a city of about 14,000 people in southwestern Arizona.
As vice president, Harris was tasked with overseeing diplomatic efforts to address migration issues from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and encouraging these countries to strengthen their own border enforcement. The Biden administration aimed to develop a long-term strategy to tackle the root causes of migration from these regions.
Immigration has been a central theme in Trump’s political agenda since his first campaign in 2015. He portrays the border as being out of control, posing threats to national security and the economy. If re-elected, Trump has pledged to deport millions of people living in the country illegally.
Biden has taken a dual approach, cracking down on new arrivals while offering new immigration pathways. In June, he announced restrictions that cut off asylum access when border arrivals reached certain numbers, angering immigration advocates. Later, he introduced a program that could provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented spouses of American citizens who had been in the country for over a decade.
Border arrests have declined from their peak last December.