Kamala snaps at reporter, blames Trump, faces down protesters and is slammed for landing 800 miles AWAY from the real crisis during her first trip to the border as VP - 93 days after she was named immigration 'czar'
Vice President Kamala Harris snapped at a reporter on Friday after arriving in El Paso, Texas, amid intense criticism of the administration's handling of a spike in migration.
Republicans accused her of only visiting the border as a 'pit stop' en route to her California home and waiting until 93 days after President Biden tasked her with tackling the crisis.
After arriving at El Paso airport she was asked why she chose now to visit and said: 'Well, it's not my first trip. I've come to the border many times.
'I said back in March I was going to come to the border so this is not a new plan'.
Harris' trip to El Paso was announced on Wednesday and appeared to have been hastily put together days before a visit to the border by former President Donald Trump. Harris' office denied that was a consideration in their scheduling.
Even so, political wrangling cast a long shadow over the day.
Harris, 56, first blamed the Trump administration for the situation at the border an hour before saying that progress would mean removing the 'rhetoric and finger pointing' from debate.
The vice president left from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, at 6am for the trip.
Texas Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar described El Paso as the 'new Ellis Island' as they arrived on the tarmac.
Her first stop was a processing center where she met migrant girls aged nine to 15, who drew pictures for her and described their hopes for the future.
She also spoke to border guards who have been dealing with a record-breaking surge in illegal crossings since the start of the Biden administration.
'We inherited a tough situation... We have looked at a system where people have been housed in inhumane conditions over the last many years... In five months, we've made progress,' she said after meeting Gloria Chavez, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso border sector.
Vice President Kamala Harris landed in El Paso, Texas, on Friday morning to visit a border facility, 93 days after the Biden administration put her in charge of the migrant crisis and amid criticism she has avoided the epicenter of the crisis
The VP told reporters that she had always been planning to visit the border and wanted to carry on the work she had done during her heavily-scrutinized trip to Guatemala and Mexico earlier this month
When asked why she chose now to visit, she said: 'Well, it's not my first trip. I've come to the border many times. I said back in March I was going to come to the border so this is not a new plan'
Harris speaks to border officials inside the border processing center. Biden's first few months in office have seen record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border, with more than 180,000 encounters taking place on the Mexican border in May
Harris' trip has already faced criticism because she is going to El Paso and not the Rio Grande, which is where a large majority of the crossings take place. She is also avoiding the migrant processing center at Fort Bliss, where children have to be monitored for self-harm, panic attacks and escape attempts
Harris speaks with Gloria Chavez, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso Sector
Harris is visiting the El Paso processing center during her border trip. According to Border Patrol statistics, the Rio Grande Valley has seen nearly two-and-a-half times more illegal crossings than in El Paso
Agents in the Rio Grande Valley apprehended 271,927 people, compared to 113,824 in El Paso, in May, the data says
Then she made an unannounced visit to a border crossing before meeting faith groups and organizations that run shelters.
At the end of her visit, she reflected on her conversation with girls, saying they reminded her to take the politics out of the crisis.
'We're talking about the children, we're talking about families, we're talking about suffering, and our approach has to be thoughtful and effective,' she said.
'And we can take all of these perspectives into account and have meaningful good public policy if we just stop the rhetoric and the finger pointing and do what we need to do.'
The answer, she added, lay in Congress coming together to pass immigration reform.
Biden's first few months in office have seen record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border, with more than 180,000 encounters taking place on the Mexican border in May.
Even before she left Harris faced criticism for her destination. Republicans said she should have gone to the Rio Grande Valley, which is where a large majority of the crossings take place. She is also avoiding the migrant tent city at Fort Bliss, where children have to be monitored for self-harm, panic attacks and escape attempts.
Former Department of Homeland Secretary Chad Wolf said: 'While it's certainly positive that she is taking this step, I am disappointed that she is not going to the Rio Grande Valley – the very epicenter of this crisis.
'Instead, she is going to El Paso, a metropolitan area 800-1,000 miles away from the RGV. Hopefully, Harris' trip will be a working visit, not just border security tourism.'
According to Border Patrol statistics, the Rio Grande Valley has seen nearly two-and-a-half times more illegal crossings than in El Paso.
Agents in the Rio Grande Valley apprehended 271,927 people, compared to 113,824 in El Paso, in May, the data say.
Harris addressed reporters at the end of her trip, saying her meeting with the young girls reminded her that the issue could not be reduced to politics. 'And we can take all of these perspectives into account and have meaningful good public policy if we just stop the rhetoric and the finger pointing and do what we need to do.'
Harris was accompanied by US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during her trip but said goodbye to him at El Paso airport before boarding Air Force Two to fly on to California
Harris spent about four and half hours on the ground in the Texas border city of El Paso, visiting border facilities and hearing from people on the front lines of the crisis before boarding Air Force Two and flying to Los Angeles
Lora Ries, former acting DHS deputy chief of staff and now senior research fellow for Homeland Security at the Heritage Foundation, accused Harris of making a 'convenient pitstop on her trip home to California.'
'As the administration’s point person on the border crisis, she should be making a dedicated effort to visit the various border sectors and listening to agents on the ground about the challenges they face due to this administration’s policies,' she said.
'Instead, she’s just tacking on a photo-op tour to check a box. This is anything but leadership.'
Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar accused Harris of opting for a 'politically safe trip' some 800 miles from the crossings 'epicenter'.
'I'm sure her planners told her that if you're going to go down to the border, go to something that's safer to go to, that is, politically safer,' Cuellar told Fox News.
'The epicenter is down there in the Lower Rio Grande, the lower part of my district down there. If you look at the numbers that are down there compared to El Paso, you're not going to get a true picture of what's happening.'
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended Harris and said he recommended El Paso 'because it is one of the busiest sectors' across the border 'and it provides the vice president with an opportunity to see the full array' of challenges DHS deals with 'and the great work that we do at the border.'
Former President Trump has already claimed credit for her decision to go while Republicans have preemptively hammered Harris over her border visit.
During the trip, Harris will tour a Customs and Border Patrol processing center, hold a conversation with immigrant-rights advocates and deliver remarks.
Chavez and Harris embrace as they discuss the situation at the border and immigration
Harris chats with Border Patrol agents during one of the first meetings of her highly-anticipated trip
Harris asked the border staff to show her the work they were doing and asked her about different databases
A group of agents, who have been dealing with an uptick in crossings since the start of the Biden administration, share their experiences with Harris
Harris speaks to border guards alongside Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (left next to her with her back turned)
People take part in a protest organized by Border Network For Human Rights (BNHR) in El Paso, Texas, as Vice President Kamala Harris visited the city. The group called for the closure of detention centers holding minors. It marked one of two dueling rallies as Republicans protested against her visit elsewhere.
Immigrant rights campaigners said the administration should do more to protect people arriving the country
Vice President Harris' motorcade passed pro-Trump protesters who said she had done too little, too late to address the crisis unfolding at the border with Mexico
Harris was greeted by protesters when she arrived in El Paso. One sign asked if she could 'hear the screams'
The group on the side of the street wave their flags as Harris' motorcade passes by
Another demonstrator's sign said that she made the 'wrong turn' and 'this isn't Europe', referencing her comments in an interview with Lester Holt while in Guatemala earlier this month
Demonstrators waving American and MAGA flags welcome Kamala Harris to El Paso
The protesters said her trip had come 'too late' and held signs saying 'Harris for Human Trafficking'
Harris watches as a border guard works on his computer in the El Paso processing center
A view from inside the processing center shows barbed wire and cameras lining the walls
Harris, 56, boarded Air Force Two at 6am on Friday morning to travel to El Paso, Texas, (pictured) in her first visit to the US-Mexico border since becoming Vice President five months ago
Harris walks with Lt. Col Richard Hulun, 89th Maintenance Group Deputy, after stepping off Marine One on the way to Air Force Two for her trip to El Pas
Harris was joined in El Paso by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee Dick Durbin and Democratic Representative from Texas Veronica Escobar.
Republicans have seized on the absence of both Harris and President Joe Biden from the border to paint the administration as weak on border security, seeking to revive a potent political weapon against Democrats in time for the 2022 midterm elections.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy for Washington-based think tank Bipartisan Policy Center, said many Republicans have embraced the hardline immigration policies of former President Donald Trump.
Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn tweeted on Friday morning: 'Vice President Harris is traveling 2000 miles today to El Paso, about 700 miles from the Rio Grande Valley, the epicenter of the crisis. Of the 2,000 mile US-Mexico border, the Texas-US border is about 1,200 miles'
'They believe that is something that can win them seats in 2022, so of course they're going to play it up,' she said. 'They're going to try to make it an issue.'
Campaigners have repeatedly called for the tented facility, at a U.S. Amy base just outside El Paso, to close.
Harris's team was twice asked during the run-up to the visit why she was not visiting.
'The administration is concerned by these reports and we do know that HHS has taken steps to address them,' said spokeswoman Symone Sanders a day ahead of the trip.
'This is serious for the president and the vice president, and we know it is serious and important for HHS … to ensure that the highest standards are being upheld.'
Flying in to El Paso, she told reporters aboard Air Force Two that the president and vice president had instructed Health and Human Services Secretary Javier Becerra to conduct an investigation.
He is due to visit the emergency intake site on Monday, his department announced as Harris toured a Customs and Border Protection post.
Just last month Fort Bliss held more than 4,000 children in conditions - although that has since decreased to about 2,300 - in conditions that Democratic Rep. Escobar described as 'unacceptable' after visiting.
This chart shows how 2021 border crossings - pictured in blue - rocketed on crossings made in 2020, represented by the brown line (2018 is pictured in gray, with 2019 in orange)
Members of the Border Patrol Tactical Team, keep watch on the border during Harris' visit
Her trip to El Paso (pictured today) was announced on Wednesday and appeared to have been hastily put together days before a visit to the border by former President Donald Trump
Harris will be accompanied to El Paso by Democratic Representative from Texas Veronica Escobar (both pictured) and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee Dick Durbin
As former President Trump, 75, is due to visit the same after in less than a week, Republicans will be watching Harris' visit closely for fodder for further attacks.
Harris, who previously visited the US-Mexico border as a senator and attorney general from California, was assailed by Republicans when she visited Mexico and Guatemala this month as part of efforts to lower migration from the region to the US.
During the trip, Harris said she would visit the US-Mexico border in the near future but was focused on 'tangible results' and 'opposed to grand gestures'.
On Thursday, White House officials said Harris' trip earlier this year was about 'root causes' of migration while her border trip is about the 'effects' of immigration.
Harris' spokesperson, Symone Sanders said: 'The Vice President's trip to Guatemala and Mexico earlier this year was about the root causes, and this border visit is about the effects.
'Both trips will inform the administration's root causes strategy.'
For months, officials have said Harris' efforts to stem immigration from Central America are focused on diplomacy and are distinct from the security issues at the border.
But a White House official, who did not wish to be named, told Reuters that there wasn't a change in strategy, despite the latest comments on Thursday.
'She has always said she will visit the border but it was more like 'when is it the right time',' the official said.
The official also said Harris's schedule is not dictated by what former President Donald Trump does, adding: 'I can assure you we don't take our cues from the former President.'
The visit (pictured boarding place) comes after months of criticism from Republicans that she has been too slow to visit the region as part of her role addressing the causes of immigration
Republicans seized on the absence of Harris and President Biden from the border to paint the administration as weak on border security. Pictured: Harris speaks to Lt. Col Richard Hulun as she boards plane
Harris greets Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at the steps of Air Force Two ahead of her highly anticipated trip to Texas
Although various administration officials have visited to the border, the absence of Biden and Harris has left some Democrats worried that damage has already been done.
'The administration is making Democrats look weak,' said Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.
'I've heard, from Democrats and Republicans in my area, what the heck is going on with this administration?'
Cuellar's district spans from south of San Antonio to the US-Mexico border, and last year he won re-election by the slimmest margin of his nearly two-decade-long career.
While he said he is not worried about his own upcoming re-election fight, he added: 'I worry about my colleagues.'
His comments reflect a broader concern among some Democrats and immigration activists that the Biden administration has ceded the border security debate to Republicans.
Biden's first few months in office have seen record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border.
US Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 180,000 encounters on the Mexican border in May, the most since March 2000.
Those numbers were boosted by a Covid pandemic-related ban on seeking asylum, which encouraged repeated attempts to cross the border because getting caught carried no legal consequences.
During the trip, Harris (pictured with Lt. Col Richard Hulun boarding plane) will tour a Customs and Border Patrol processing center and hold a conversation with immigrant-rights advocates
With former President Donald Trump visiting the area in less than a week, Republicans will be watching the vice president's (pictured) visit closely for fodder for further attacks
US Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 180,000 encounters with migrants on the Mexican border in May, the most since March 2000. Pictured: Harris greets Alejandro Mayorkas, Veronica Escobar and Sen. Dick Durbin
Republicans have seized on those figures to attack Biden and Harris as weak on border security, a message the GOP used with success during the 2020 campaign.
Administration officials, including Harris, have sought to push back against that perception, with Harris repeatedly sending the message 'do not come' to migrants during her recent visit to Guatemala.
But those comments drew fire from some progressives, most notably New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who called the message 'disappointing'.
It underscored the political no-win situation Harris finds herself in while tackling immigration, a problem that's bedeviled past administrations and been used by both parties to drive wedges and turnout during campaign season.
If Biden chooses not to run for a second term, Harris will be seen as the leading contender, and the immigration issue could become a chance for her to showcase her accomplishments or an albatross.
Harris advisers have been careful to emphasize that her main focus related to immigration is addressing the root causes of migration.
She has been seeking economic and humanitarian solutions to improve conditions for residents of Central and North American countries who flee to the US.
Her aides have framed her trip to the border as part of an effort to better understand how to solve the problem.
'What happens at the border matters, and is directly connected to what is happening in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras,' said Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders. 'It is directly connected to the work of addressing the root causes of migration.'
Harris advisers have emphasized that her focus related to immigration is addressing the root causes of migration. Pictured: Harris greets (L-R) Alejandro Mayorkas, Veronica Escobar and Dick Durbin
Harris will be joined in El Paso by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (pictured) and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee Dick Durbin
Although various administration officials have made multiple visits to the border, the absence of Biden and Harris has left some Democrats worried that damage already has been done. Pictured: Harris boarding plane with Lt. Col Hulun
Harris had no plans to visit the migrant detention facility at the Fort Bliss military post, which has drawn criticism from advocates who have described unsafe conditions and allegations of abuse toward some of the thousands of children housed there.
Cuellar called her decision to visit El Paso 'politically safe,' because, he said, most of the activity at the border happens farther south.
Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Latino civil rights organization, expressed concerns that Harris's visit was 'a day late and a dollar short.'
'It almost feels like they're being kind of forced into it by the local communities, as well as the Republicans' political attacks from the right,' Garcia said.
But, Garcia said he was glad she was going, and expressed optimism that her visit could help the Biden administration correct its course on the immigration issue and show a contrast to the Trump administration's hardline stance on border security.
'They should own this, and they should solve it, because it does need a bipartisan solution,' he said.
