Harris seeks to shift the focus onto Trump by highlighting border security as a significant concern.
During her trip to the crucial voting state of Arizona, Harris criticized Trump for sabotaging a border security bill that had been the result of lengthy bipartisan discussions earlier this year.
This was one of Harris's more focused policy speeches since becoming the Democratic nominee, attempting to utilize her experience as California's attorney general to demonstrate her capacity to challenge Trump on his main issue.
"It was the strongest border security bill we've seen in years. It was backed by the Border Patrol union. And it should be in effect today, producing tangible results right now, for our country," she said during a rally in Douglas, a town on the US-Mexico border.
"But Donald Trump derailed it. He picked up the phone and urged some allies in Congress to halt the bill," she said. "He prefers to campaign on a problem rather than addressing a problem. And the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games and their own political interests."
Trump retaliated to Harris's border trip by intensifying his own immigration rhetoric. Highlighting criminal acts committed by undocumented immigrants, Trump told a crowd in Walker, Michigan, that Harris "promoted these atrocities."
"She brought these horrors into being. She unleashed these atrocities, and blood is on her hands at a level that, probably, nobody's ever seen in this country," he said.
Trump also falsely accused Democrats of allowing illegal immigrants into the country because "they want the votes." Non-citizens cannot vote in US elections, a fact ignored by Trump, who has been spreading misinformation about widespread fraud in the 2020 election for years.
The Democratic push on immigration and border security is an attempt to erode one of Trump's strongest political advantages. A CNN poll carried out by SSRS this week found that Trump is trusted by 49% of likely voters to handle immigration, while Harris is trusted by 35%.
Harris also outlined plans on Friday to strengthen restrictions that have largely prevented migrants from seeking asylum in the United States. She also stated she would work towards citizenship for undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children.
"They are American in every sense. Yet, they do not have a clear pathway to citizenship. This issue has gone unresolved for decades," Harris said.
The 2024 race takes a backseat
The debate over immigration and border security comes at an unusual time so late in a presidential race when attention has shifted away from both parties' nominees.
Dozens of people had been killed as Hurricane Helene swept across the Southeast, causing widespread flooding. Meanwhile, Israel has escalated its conflict with Hezbollah with a strike on a building in Lebanon that it claimed was storing missiles.
And both parties' vice presidential nominees are preparing to take the spotlight next week, as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance square off for their only debate on Tuesday night.
With less than six weeks until Election Day, the 2024 presidential map remains chaotic – with seven battleground states emerging as key battlegrounds.
A new CNN poll carried out by SSRS on Friday showed Harris with a comfortable lead for a single electoral college vote in Nebraska, a state that could have significant implications regardless of the outcome.
Nebraska awards one electoral college vote to the winner of each congressional district. The poll of the Omaha-based 2nd District found Harris leading in Nebraska's most liberal region, with 53% support to Trump's 42%.
That single electoral vote could be crucial if Harris wins Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin but loses the four Sun Belt swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina. That could leave her with 269 electoral college votes – and another from Nebraska could give her the 270 needed to win the White House.
Another CNN poll carried out by SSRS released on Friday found the two candidates tied in North Carolina at 48% each. Trump faces limited paths to victory if he fails to hold North Carolina – the state where he earned his narrowest margin of victory in 2020. And the CNN poll found the scandal-plagued Republican nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, struggling to keep pace with his Democratic rival.
Republicans emphasize undocumented immigrants' crimes
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee held a press call before Harris's visit to Arizona featuring three mothers of those killed by undocumented immigrants or accidental fentanyl overdoses who blamed Harris for what they called a lack of accountability on border security.
"This is not a safe time for Americans. Kamala Harris has not acknowledged my daughter's death," said Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was raped and killed by a 23-year-old citizen of El Salvador. Rachel Morin was a mother of five herself.
"She has been late to the party on this matter. At any point, she could do something," said southern California mother Anne Fundner, whose 15-year-old son Weston died from a fentanyl overdose.
The call aimed to cast doubt on Harris's plans to tackle border security, as Trump argues that Harris and President Biden have had four years to do so and have failed.
After a significant drop, border crossings have now reached the lowest levels since 2020. US officials have hailed back-to-back months of low border crossings, attributing this to recent executive action limiting asylum access at the southern border.
Republicans have labeled Harris the Biden administration's "border czar," exaggerating the president's more limited 2021 assignment for Harris to address the root causes of migration in Central America.
On a Friday, Harris decided to leverage her past experiences. Specifically, her tenure as California's Attorney General. She emphasized her initiatives against international criminal networks, mentioning journeys to Mexico City alongside other AGs, where they exchanged info about gangs and cartels.
"Halting international criminal groups and bolstering our borders isn't unfamiliar territory for me, and it's something I've been passionate about for a while," she stated. "I've already tackled this issue, and I plan to keep it at the forefront of my priorities."
This report was enhanced by the efforts of Priscilla Alvarez, Ali Main, Ariel Edwards-Levy, and Kit Maher from CNN.
- Despite Trump's claims to the contrary, non-citizens cannot vote in US elections, and his accusations against Democrats for allowing illegal immigrants into the country for voting purposes are misleading.
- The debate over immigration and border security between Harris and Trump has shifted the focus away from the 2024 presidential race, with both parties' vice presidential nominees preparing to take the spotlight.
