Kamala Harris promises to revive bipartisan border security bill blocked by Trump

US Vice President Kamala Harris has reaffirmed her commitment to border security, stressing the need for stronger measures to combat illegal immigration and the fentanyl crisis. Harris criticized former President Donald Trump for blocking a comprehensive border security bill that had bipartisan support in Congress.

“Last December, I helped raise the overtime pay rate for border agents,” Harris said. “I strongly supported the comprehensive border security bill, which was written last year by a bipartisan group of senators, including one of the most conservative members of the United States Congress.”

The bill, which Harris described as “the strongest security bill seen in decades”, was intended to address several critical issues at the US southern border. It would have hired 1,500 more border agents and officers, installed 100 inspection machines to detect fentanyl, and expanded the number of immigration judges and asylum officers. “This would have allowed us to more quickly and effectively remove people who came here illegally,” Harris said.

Despite being supported by the Border Patrol union, the bill was ultimately derailed by Trump. “Donald Trump failed it. he/she picked up the phone and called some friends in Congress and told them to stop the bill, because he/she’d rather run on a problem than fix a problem,’ Harris alleged.

As a result of Trump’s intervention, Harris argued that the border is less secure today. “The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games and his/her personal, political future.”

Harris pledged that if elected president, she would revive the bill and sign it into law. “Even though Donald Trump tried to sabotage the border security bill, it’s my pledge to you that as President of the United States, I will bring it back and proudly sign it into law.”

This comes amid renewed debate over border security, as Trump’s administration earlier scored a victory when the US Supreme Court allowed the use of $2.5 billion from the Defense Department to build parts of the border wall. . Despite Congress refusing to provide the requested funding, the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision allowed Trump to move forward with the controversial wall, a decision that has stoked division over how to best secure the border. Have continued.

Many lawmakers opposed the move, warning that removing funding from the Pentagon would harm national security priorities.