As border crossings rise, Harris takes long-term approach to problem

A review of Harris’s work on immigration reveals a record that is more nuanced than that of her critics or allies. It also offers insight into how Harris — who took over as Democratic standard-bearer when Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month — might address one of the nation’s most vexing issues.

Harris was never a “border czar” or responsible for border security or deterring illegal crossings, as former President Donald Trump, Republicans and even the occasional media outlet have claimed. Instead, she was tasked in March 2021 with addressing the “root causes” of migration from the Northern Triangle and pushing its leaders — along with Mexico — to enforce immigration laws, administration officials said.

Harris’ supporters say she has shown leadership by using her position to leverage investment that could curb future migration.

“She believed — and I think she was right — that what she could do most was to help basically lead the effort to attract investment, using the certainty that investors could get from the relationship with the White House,” said Ricardo Zúniga, a former State Department official who specialized in the Northern Triangle and traveled to the region with Harris.

Critics say she could have done much more but chose a less risky path that only made the problem worse.

“She said, ‘No, I’m just the root cause,’” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for less immigration. “Even if it worked, this is something that takes generations, not one term.”

He also said there was no evidence that Harris pressured Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries to enforce immigration laws.

Harris has defended her work, and her campaign began airing a television ad Friday saying that as president, Harris “will hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.” Democrats have also criticized Trump for helping block a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year that would have increased funding for border security, including hiring new personnel for Customs and Border Protection.

Trump “talks a lot about securing the border, but he doesn’t do what he says,” the vice president said last month in Atlanta. She later added: “Donald Trump doesn’t care about securing the border. He only cares about himself.”

Immigration is becoming a major political issue

Immigration has long been an issue that motivates Trump and his base of supporters, with polls showing it is one of the top issues on voters’ minds. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump said he would build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it. Trump has been unable to complete the project, and Mexico has not funded the portion of the barrier that has been built. The former president has also used explosive language to describe immigrants, launching his campaign by suggesting that Mexico sends its “rapists” and criminals to the United States.

While in office, Trump sought to strictly limit asylum, a move that was challenged in the courts. This time, Trump has promised to oversee a “mass deportation” of migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.

Migration numbers have risen and fallen dramatically during both presidencies. Border Patrol arrests at the southern border fell in Trump’s first year in office, then rose sharply over the next two years, reaching more than 850,000 in 2019. The numbers fell sharply in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, then rose even more during Biden’s presidency, peaking at more than 250,000 encounters in December 2023 and then falling below 84,000 in June 2024, federal statistics show.

Once Biden took office, he reversed dozens of Trump’s immigration policies, even as apprehensions began to rise.

Harris finds himself in a “difficult situation”

Harris was tasked with addressing migration at a time when border crossings have surged, drawing significant attention and leading to bipartisan calls for action.

Chris Newman, an immigrant rights advocate in Los Angeles, said Harris was in a difficult situation.

“Her job was to develop a long-term policy framework, not to create a short-term political project,” said Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Biden and Harris had taken office just two months earlier, and Harris was under pressure to build on her policy portfolio. When he was vice president, Biden took on a similar role on immigration. But Harris has faced a particularly difficult situation in 2021, given the lack of government partners in the region. El Salvador’s new president, Nayib Bukele, has had a strained relationship with the administration over human rights issues that have emerged from its crackdown on crime in his country. The man who was then president of Honduras was convicted of drug trafficking.

Harris immediately began having trouble, confirming fears from some on her team that this was a hopeless task.

Harris traveled to Mexico and Guatemala in June 2021, where she defended the fact that she had not been to the U.S.-Mexico border during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, saying she had “not been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t… I understand what you mean.”

She also faced criticism for openly warning migrants: “Don’t come” to the U.S.

Harris has chosen to focus on attracting private investment to the region, tapping into her network of business and nonprofit executives and using the prestige of the White House to signal that the Biden administration supports those efforts.

This work has included partnerships with international companies such as Visa, Nestle and Meta, as well as smaller nonprofits and businesses from Latin America, all of which have committed to increasing their investments or strengthening their partnerships with vulnerable communities.

Focused on private investments

The Associated Press contacted all two dozen companies the White House has touted as participants in the effort. Some, like Agroamerica, a sustainable food corporation that has pledged more than $100 million in six new projects, said their work had begun and was on track to meet investment goals. Others, including Columbia Sportswear Company, said they likely would exceed their commitments.

Most companies, however, declined to comment or did not respond to questions about their operations.

The vice president’s office said Harris’s efforts have generated more than $5.2 billion in investment pledges. As an illustration of how long it takes for pledges to translate into actual spending, the State Department said companies have invested nearly $1.3 billion in the region through June 2024, most of it in Guatemala and Honduras.

“We are on track to exceed our commitments,” said Peter Bragdon, chief executive of Columbia Sportswear Company, of their pledge to buy up to $200 million worth of products from the region. That pledge will create nearly 7,000 jobs over five years, the company said. The executive called Harris’ actions “a work in progress” but “a smart approach.”

Katie Tobin, who served for three years as the top migration adviser on the National Security Council, acknowledged Harris’ focus on driving investment to reduce migrant numbers, arguing that Harris “was able to leverage her credibility” and the power of the White House to convince companies to invest in a “risky investment environment.”

“It was very Kamala Harris,” she added. “I’d never seen anything like that in this space before, and it made a real impact.”

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a sharp critic of Harris, said the vice president and the White House are taking credit for investments that would have been made anyway.

Companies “don’t do it because someone asked them to,” said Scott, who co-founded a large healthcare company. “They do it because it makes economic sense.”

Corruption has been addressed

Harris also sought to address the endemic corruption that fueled migration from Central America. Before traveling to Guatemala in 2021, Harris met with a group of exiled Guatemalan prosecutors and judges in Washington.

Among them was Thelma Aldana, a former chief prosecutor who fled the country after being charged with corruption she said was politically motivated.

“I came away convinced that she really wants to change the situation in Central America,” Aldana said.

The vice president also deserves credit for helping to stop former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei from invalidating the 2023 election of his successor, Bernardo Arévalo, according to Luis Von Ahn, a Guatemalan-American technology entrepreneur living in the U.S.

“Giammattei didn’t want to leave power, the Kamala Harris administration came and told him ‘stop (playing),’” said Von Ahn, founder of the language app Duolingo. “That’s a great help for Guatemala. If an extremely corrupt president doesn’t want to leave, that’s terrible and (his departure) allows us to be a better country.”

The verdict on Harris’ approach is already known

While the Harris campaign and the White House have cited statistics that show migration from Northern Triangle countries has declined significantly since the beginning of 2021, there is debate about what is causing the decline.

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said Harris and the administration deserve credit for the reduction because their efforts “worked.”

Independent analysts, however, said they were skeptical that Harris’ approach was responsible for the decline. They said the decline was likely due to regional factors, including the arrival of El Salvador’s new president and his aggressive determination to combat violent crime. His government reported a 70% drop in homicides in 2023.

Julia Gelatt, deputy director of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, said it could take years for migration patterns to change — if they do at all.

“Even significant economic growth does not reduce immigration in the way countries expect,” Gelatt said.

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Riccardi reported from Denver. Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City contributed to this story.