As DNC Looms, Kamala Harris Faces Attacks From Both Sides On Immigration

amala Harris promised to close privately run immigration detention "on day one" during her failed presidential bid in 2019, but a few weeks into her 2024 bid, it is not clear what her immigration policies would be—and calls are growing for answers. ADVERTISEMENT The resurfaced video from October 2019 shows an audience member questioning Harris about her immigration policy at a town hall in Iowa, with an immediate and firm answer from the California senator. Five years on, Harris has been questioned over her record on border security as vice president under Joe Biden, and in response she has promised to bring back the failed bipartisan border bill. That legislation that would increase funding for ICE detention beds, border patrol agents, and immigration judges, tougher measures which appear to contradict the thrust of her campaign promise in 2019. With the Democratic National Convention next week, such uncertainty has only fueled attacks from her critics on the right. However, from the other side, immigration reform advocates told Newsweek that the Democratic candidate should be bolder, such as by providing more legal pathways to citizenship. How Harris can reconcile these views on an issue that consistently ranks among Americans' biggest concerns could be one of the defining challenges of her presidential bid. What Is Kamala Harris' Border Policy What Is Kamala Harris' 'Day 1' Border Policy? We Still Don't Know Photo Illustration by Newsweek/Getty Images Sign up for Newsletter Newsletter The Bulletin Your Morning Starts Here Begin your day with a curated outlook of top news around the world and why it matters. Enter your email address I want to receive special offers and promotions from Newsweek By clicking on SIGN ME UP, you agree to Newsweek's Terms of Use & Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. Why Hasn't Harris Announced Immigration Policies? With Harris now the confirmed Democratic candidate, voters are waiting to see how she will differentiate her policies from President Joe Biden, including on immigration. The DNC will offer a chance for more concrete policy proposals. However, after three weeks of attacks on her record with the border, some feel it's time already to lay out the plan. Exclusively Available to Subscribers Try it now for $1 While Harris has promised to reintroduce the bipartisan border bill and be tough when it comes to enforcement, Douglas Rivlin from immigration advocacy group America's Voice told Newsweek that Harris needs to be bolder. "I think to be successful, she's got to differentiate herself in more ways, and that includes talking about legal immigration and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have been here for a long time," Rivlin said. Rivlin said that the GOP's message is that it is defending the U.S. from a non-white, immigrant "other". Read more Kamala Harris Election Forecast Predicts Harris vs. Trump Electoral College Vote Totals Donald Trump Paints DNC As Communist Rally in New Kamala Harris Attack Ads Trump Argues Migrants are Stealing Jobs, Experts and Data Disagree Five Other Trump Economic Policies That Kamala Harris Could Copy "Harris and her family and her very being symbolize that non-white other that Trump is fighting against," Rivlin added. Harris did say at rallies over the past weekend that she wanted to shore up paths to citizenship for immigrants, which America's Voice has welcomed. Increasing access to legal routes would stand in contrast to Trump's promises of mass deportations. "People hear about mass deportation, the first time they're sort of like 'OK well somebody wants to do something on immigration'," Rivlin said, adding that Democrats need to explain to voters that, as he argues, the GOP's plan could have devastating effects on the U.S. economy. Closing Detention Centers Adelanto Detention Center Adelanto Detention Center in Adelanto, California, a desert community northeast of Los Angeles. Richard Vogel/AP Detention is a policy topic that has proved divisive for both critics and supporters of Harris. "I want to know, when you become president, would you be committing to closing the immigration detention centers?" an attendee at a campaign event was heard asking Harris in 2019. "Absolutely, on day one. On day one," Harris responded. Andrew Fels, an attorney at Al Otro Lado in San Diego, California, which works with migrants, told Newsweek that the policy would mean those crossing the border would stop being treated like criminals. "Abolishing mass civil immigration detention properly realigns current federal policy with its prior practices and traditional American notions of justice and fairness," he said. "Americans have historically been loath to inflict detention for anything short of criminal violations—failing to timely return government-owned library books seldom ends with incarceration. "Jail is for criminals and immigration law is civil, not criminal. But under its relatively recent practice of mass civil immigration detention, the federal government annually imprisons tens of thousands of people for real or imagined civil immigration violations. Ending this practice is entirely reasonable, practical, and humane." Migrants crossing the US Mexico border A member of the Cartel takes pictures of transported migrants for evidence before releasing them into the United States on June 26, 2024 in Ruby, Arizona. Brandon Bell/Getty Images GOP lawmakers, however, have lined up to slam Harris for her views five years ago, including Representative Mark Green of Tennessee. "Vice President Kamala Harris' prior support for catch-and-release has defined her tenure as Biden's appointed 'border czar.' The Biden-Harris administration has routinely requested less detention space, refused to fill the ICE beds authorized by Congress, and even closed detention centers altogether amidst this historic crisis," Green told Newsweek. "Consequently, on Harris' watch, ICE's Non-Detained Docket has more than doubled in the past three and half years, meaning millions of inadmissible aliens have been released into our communities with inadequate vetting, with court dates years in the future and with DHS itself admitting that those not removed within a year almost never will be." Texas Governor Greg Abbott shared the video of Harris' response to the detention question to his social media page and said that Harris is for "catch and release", adding that her proposal from 2019 is a "magnet" for illegal immigration. "It means that every illegal immigrant crossing the border will be processed by border patrol and let go," he said. Abbott and others have repeatedly branded Harris as Biden's "border czar." She was entrusted with coordinating diplomatic relationships in the hopes of improving conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to encourage potential migrants to stay in their home country. Nonetheless, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Biden-Harris administration has "failed badly" in its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis. According to ICE data, 37,000 migrants are currently in detention centers, and more than 10,000 detainees have a criminal record. Harris delivered a scathing assessment of private prisons profiting from migrants' incarceration during the Iowa town hall while on the campaign trail in 2019. "This means that their business model is that people are profiting off the incarceration of other human beings," she said. "I, on day one, will shut them down. That is not how our taxpayer dollars should be spent." Harris has not outlined her specific policy on this matter as of yet. Newsweek reached out to the campaign for comment on Tuesday. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.