FACT CHECK: Harris was Biden’s Second ‘Border Czar,’ Despite Recent Media Caims
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
(Worthy News) – As Vice President Kamala Harris began campaigning to become the next Democratic presidential nominee, media outlets started claiming she was never President Joe Biden’s border czar.
The claims are verifiably false.
“Kamala Harris Was Never Biden’s ‘Border Czar,’” TIME Magazine claimed. A USA Today “fact check” headline said, “Harris’ border work was on ‘root causes’ of migration; she wasn’t in charge.” Axios wrote, “The Trump campaign and Republicans have tagged Harris repeatedly with the ‘border czar’ title – which she never actually had.”
PolitiFact wrote, “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. Biden didn’t put Harris in charge of overseeing border security.”
Harris was the second woman chosen as border czar by the president.
After 100 days on the job, Roberta Jacobson, President Joe Biden’s first border czar, left the role on April 9, 2021, after already “grappling with large increases of migrants attempting to cross into the U.S.,” The Los Angeles Times reported, saying, “Biden’s border czar … is stepping down.”
Before she did, Biden announced in a March 24, 2021, news conference that Harris would be responsible for addressing the southwest border surge that already began within days of him taking office. “I can think of nobody who’s better qualified to do this than the former” California attorney general, Biden said.
Harris was chosen to lead the effort because “the best thing to do is to put someone [in the role] when he or she speaks they don’t have to wonder about where the president is,” Biden said. “When she speaks, she speaks for me. She doesn’t have to check with me. She knows what she’s doing. I hope we can move this along [to address the] increasing challenges at our southwest border. No one knows this better than the vice president.”
In response, Harris thanked Biden and said, “There’s no question that this is a challenging situation. While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law. Because we can chew gum and walk at the same time, we must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek.” She also looked forward to working with Congress “to address root causes of migration. Needless to say, the work will not be easy, but it is important work.”
Multiple news outlets reported on the announcement, including The Washington Post, The Hill, the Associated Press, Axios, Politico, Reuters, The Huffington Post, Fox News, NBC News and others.
The social media site X fact checked Axios’ recent claim using one of its own articles, stating, “On April 14, 2021, Axios’ Shawna Chen confirmed Kamala Harris had been appointed Biden’s ‘Border Czar’ writing: Harris, appointed by Biden as border czar, said she would be looking at the ‘root causes’ that drive migration.”
Since Harris was tapped as border czar, The Center Square has published 69 news stories covering the border crisis as it relates to the border czar. House Republicans this week filed two articles of impeachment against Harris, one over her role in addressing the border crisis.
Biden’s March 24, 2021, announcement was made after members of Congress toured a federal detention facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, where 700 unaccompanied minors were being held. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, posted images of them sleeping on concrete floors in response to media outlets being denied access by the Biden administration.
Earlier that month, Cuellar warned, “We are weeks, maybe even days, away from a crisis on the southern border. Inaction is simply not an option. Our country is currently unprepared to handle a surge in migrants.”
Harris never visited the facility or Cuellar’s district. Since then, more than 12 million foreign nationals have illegally entered the country under the border czar.
On March 31, 2021, Abbott sent his first letter to Harris, saying, “Now that President Biden has named you Border Czar in charge of the administration’s response, I want to express to you the threats and challenges caused by this administration’s open border policies. These policies embolden and enrich cartels, smugglers, and human traffickers who continue to ramp up their criminal operations. Given your new role as the administration’s Border Czar, I urge you to visit the border to see the crisis for yourself, and … to take swift action to secure the border, crack down on human trafficking, and prevent more children from being trafficked and abused.”
She only visited a port of entry in El Paso on June 25, 2021, 800 miles away from the Rio Grande Valley, the center of the border crisis at the time.
“The crisis at our southern border continues to escalate because of Biden Administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration,” Abbott said at the time. In response, on March 6, 2021, Abbott launched Texas’ border security mission, Operation Lone Star. OLS officers have since made over 516,000 apprehensions, separate from federal border apprehensions.
As calls grew for Harris to visit the border and respond to the crisis, by an April 20, 2022, press briefing White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked, “Does the president still have confidence” in Harris as border czar. She replied, “He absolutely does.”
Abbott maintains, “‘Border Czar’ Harris has NOT done her job to secure the border. Innocent Americans have lost their lives, law enforcement has been assaulted, and fentanyl has killed thousands.” He’s also called on Americans to vote for Trump to secure the border.