Biden has named Kamala Harris Harris to lead the border migration operation. The President announced his decision on Wednesday. Vice President would take the lead for the Biden administration on border and migration issues, granting her a high-profile spot on a contentious topic.
It is Harris’s first direct assignment since joining President Biden’s team, one that suits her experience while still putting her in the midst of a political storm.
The announcement was made during a meeting with immigration officials at the White House. President highlighted Harris’s tenure as California’s attorney general focusing on civil rights and fighting organized crime, implying that there was “nobody who is better qualified” for the position.
Harris’s mission will be to assist the administration in its attempts to curb the influx of asylum seekers to the southern border by fixing problems in migrants’ home countries.
“I have asked her, the VP today, because she is the most qualified person to do it, to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border,” Biden said.
Biden stated that Harris would have other responsibilities and that the current one would not be her sole duty, but he deputized her to speak on his behalf on the matter.
“She is leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who, when he or she speaks, they don’t have to wonder about, ‘Is that where the president is?’” Biden said. “When she speaks, she speaks for me, doesn’t have to check with me, she knows what she’s doing, and I hope we can move this along.”
In several aspects, the role is a perfect match for Harris, who made immigration and border policy a priority while representing California in the Senate. She is also the daughter of immigrants, her mother is from India, and her father is from Jamaica.
According to Cabinet officials, Biden has named Kamala Harris to the new position because of an implicit degree of confidence.
“He has the experience and lived through this process as the Vice President himself,” an official said. “Biden has said over and over again the person that I trust most, the person I turn to when there’s a hard issue, is Kamala Harris.”
Both Harris and Biden noted the issue’s complexities in their remarks at the White House but argued that they could make progress.
“This new surge that we are seeing now started with the last administration, but it is our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to stop what’s happening,” Biden said.
Harris said that the work would be difficult but vital.
“There are many factors that lead residents to leave these countries,” Harris said. “While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we also – because we can chew gum and walk at the same time – must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek as the president has described to come here.”
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