Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism from MAGA conservatives over her support for a bipartisan border bill that includes a measure to construct more border wall at the U.S.-Mexico frontier.
During the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois last week, Harris said she would sign into law a bipartisan border bill.
Her support for the legislation comes amid scrutiny over her positioning on immigration, a key issue in the 2024 election. The U.S. has seen a high number of migrant crossings throughout the Biden administration, leading some to believe Democrats‘ approach to the issue is too liberal.
While border crossings rose throughout 2021, 2022 and 2023, they have begun to drop in recent months. In July, there were 104,116 encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, down from 183,479 in July 2023 and 200,162 in July 2022, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
Harris, however, has sought to reach a middle ground on immigration, rejecting policies embraced by the former president viewed by critics as inhumane, while also showing an openness to work with Republicans to reach some sort of deal to address border security, including support for the bipartisan border bill.
Vice President Kamala Harris. The Vice President’s support for a bipartisan border bill, which would allow for more border wall construction, sparked criticism from conservatives.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
The bill includes a measure that would see more construction of the border wall, though Axios reported that Harris’ campaign has said it would only extend the timeline to spend funds to build the border wall previously appropriated by the Trump administration.
The bipartisan bill would allow $650 million for border wall construction, far less than the $18 billion Trump requested in 2018.
Harris’ support of the bill has led some Republicans to accuse her of flip-flopping on the border wall, as she previously voiced staunch opposition to the construction, knocking it as “unrealistic” and a “waste of money.”
However, the bill does contain concessions from both Democrats and Republicans. While Harris said she would sign the bill into law, she has not said she agrees with every aspect of the bill, including the border wall. Centrists from both parties have argued that while the bill is not perfect for either side, it would mark progress on addressing border security, a key priority for Americans.
Conservatives have blasted Harris for supporting the bill.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, criticized Harris for her support of the bill during his Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast. Cruz is a supporter of Trump who opposed the bipartisan border bill.
“Do not pay attention to anything Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have done. Listen instead to the nonsense they’re spewing before the election. But this truly is the one that is the cherry on top of the sundae,” he said.
“Let me read the headline from Axios. Harris flip flops on building the border wall. If she is elected president, Kamala Harris pledges to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a wall along the southern border, a project she once opposed and called ‘unamerican’ during the Trump administration.”
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, a Trump ally who also spoke out against the border bill, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “I don’t think people have fully internalized what a dramatic about-face Kamala Harris just pulled. We were smeared for NINE YEARS that a border wall was racist, anti-American, xenophobic, and fascist. We were called nazis, bigots, and worse. For nine years! Then suddenly, 70 days out from the election, Kamala Harris decides she supports one and it’s crickets from the media.”
“The gaslighting is truly remarkable,” he added.
Representative Erin Houchin, an Indiana Republican, posted: “Kamala Harris continues to flip-flop on policy issues, the latest being the border wall. Too bad we have the receipts. Don’t fall for her false promises; she welcomed this invasion, and if she had any real plans to address the border crisis, she would do it now.”
Houchin is a supporter of Trump and has described the border bill as “horrendous.”
The bill gained momentum earlier in 2024, but Trump-aligned conservatives declined to support it after the former president voiced disapproval for the legislation. Critics have accused Trump and Republicans of killing the bill to prevent Democrats from scoring a legislative victory ahead of the presidential election.
Susan Rice, who served as the director of the Domestic Policy Council, criticized claims that Harris now supports a border wall.
“This is BS. Both Biden and Harris opposed Trump’s border wall. But they COMPROMISED to achieve a BIPARTISAN border security bill, the toughest in decades. That’s not a flip flop. That’s legislating to serve the American people. Trump is the flip flopper. He killed the bill that reflects his alleged policy goals for brazen political gain,” she wrote on X.
