Vice President Kamala Harris once pledged to close all privately-run immigration detention centers “on day one” during her first presidential campaign, as her record on the southern border continues to generate heavy criticism.
A resurfaced video clip shows then-Sen. Harris at an October 2019 town hall in Iowa City, Iowa during her 2020 bid.
“I want to know, when you become president, would you be committing to closing the immigration detention centers?” an attendee is heard asking.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and migrants at the southern border. Harris previously pledged to close all privately-run immigration detention centers. (Getty Images)
“Absolutely, on day one. On day one,” Harris responded.
Fox News Digital has reached doubt to the Harris campaign asking if her position has changed.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted the footage on his social media feed.
“When she tells you who she is… …believe her,” he wrote.
As of the July 2024 fiscal year, more than 37,000 migrants were being held across 18 private detention facilities, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) data. Just over 10,000 of those migrants have criminal records while about 4,600 have pending criminal charges.
On Monday, ICE announced several arrests, including the deportation of a Brazilian man wanted for attempted murder who was caught and released at the southern border in March. A Dominican man was also arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking in Massachusetts after he was caught & released at the border in February.
President Biden has recently touted the decline in illegal border crossings. (Getty Images)
A Guatemalan migrant was arrested and charged with child molestation in Rhode Island. He was caught and released at the border during the Obama administration. Also arrested was an Ecuadorian “gotaway” charged with rape and kidnapping in Massachusetts.
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As vice President, Harris was tapped by President Biden to serve as a border “czar” to address illegal immigration from Central America.
Since announcing her presidential campaign, Republicans have criticized Harris over the Biden administration’s record on the border, which has seen record numbers of illegal immigrants released into the United States.
In 2018, Harris compared Homeland Security agencies to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The Sen. Harris was questioning Ronald Vitiello, who was former President Trump’s nominee to lead ICE, if he was “aware of the perception” of parallels between ICE and the KKK.
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“Are you aware that there is a perception that ICE is administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation, particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America?” she asked.
In a 2018 interview with MSNBC, Harris said there was alot wrong with ICE and the way it was “conducting itself.”
“I think there’s no question that we’ve got to critically re-examine ICE, and its role, and the way that it is being administered, and the work it is doing,” she said. “And we need to probably think about starting from scratch.”