The GOP-led House passed a resolution in bipartisan fashion on Thursday to condemn Vice President Kamala Harris as “border czar” and the Biden administration for its inability to curb illegal immigration.
Six Democrats joined with 214 Republicans in voting for the measure. Another 196 Democrats voted against it. Sixteen members, including six Republicans and 10 Democrats, did not cast a vote. The Democrats who broke ranks were Reps. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), Jared Golden (D-ME), Mary Peltola (D-AK), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA).
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the chairwoman of the House GOP Conference, introduced a resolution on Tuesday after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Harris has since gathered the support of enough delegates to win the Democratic Party’s nomination.
The resolution “strongly condemns the Biden Administration and its Border Czar, Kamala Harris’s, failure to secure the United States border.” It further “affirms that the American people deserve elected officials who understand the gravity of the crisis at the border and who will execute the policies to fix the border crisis.” The resolution also “clearly and firmly states that the continuation of the Biden, Harris border policies would be disastrous for both the United States and the American people.”
Biden tasked Harris with leading his administration’s efforts to deal with Mexico and other countries to stem the tide of migration to the southern U.S. border in March 2021. At the time, Harris said the government “must address the root causes…that cause people to make the trek.”
Stefanik’s resolution accuses Biden and Harris of instituting “far left Democrat open border policies” and making the border crisis “significantly worse” by formally ending former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program in August 2022.
Other clauses in the resolution reference how the VP waited 93 days before visiting the border, officials recording millions of illegal immigrant encounters since Biden and Harris took office, murders of Americans committed by illegal immigrants, people on the terrorist watch list trying to cross the border, costs on taxpayers, and other issues.
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“Today my resolution condemning Kamala Harris for her role as Joe Biden’s open border czar passed the House. Let me be clear: Harris and every elected Democrat owns this historic border crisis that has turned every community into a border community. It is time that we return to President Donald Trump’s border security policies that put the safety of American citizens first,” Stefanik said in a statement after the vote.
“At our Northern Border in the Swanton Sector, I have seen firsthand with the Border Patrol the disastrous consequences of Kamala Harris’ failed Far Left open border agenda which caused a historic surge in illegal crossings like we have never seen at our Northern Border before including individuals on the terrorist watchlist,” she added. “Kamala Harris didn’t just create a national security crisis, but a humanitarian crisis that has endangered the lives of millions. House Republicans will secure the border.”
The six Democrats who voted with Republicans to pass Stefanie’s resolution have also supported other GOP resolutions denouncing the Biden administration’s border policies over the past several months as immigration became a top issue for Americans in an election year.
During a press conference before the vote on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) took aim at Stefanik’s measure, calling it a “fake and fraudulent resolution.”
