In her first major interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, U.S. VP Kamala Harris vowed to renew a push for comprehensive legislation that would tighten migration along the U.S. border with Mexico. (Reuters)
Our Take
Harris’ comments on migration should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the politics of immigration in the West in recent years. In the U.S., President Joe Biden has in the second half of his term adopted increasingly restrictive immigration measures, adopting a centrist approach that echoes the policies of his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
Still, Harris’ comments do stand in stark contrast to the kind of rhetoric that was on display last election cycle, including by Harris herself when she was running in the Democratic presidential primary in 2019. After Trump turned immigration into a polarizing, hot-button issue in the mid-2010s and pushed the Republican Party to adopt far-right stances on the issue, the left seemed poised to adopt the other end of the spectrum. While the right called for pushbacks and restriction on asylum seekers, the left was calling for openness to migrants and respect for human rights.