In late July there was series of mega-Zoom calls following the announcement that Kamala Harris was taking Joe Biden’s place as the Democratic presidential candidate. First, 40,000 joined on a call of Black Women for Kamala Harris. A couple days later there were 164,000 mostly white women on a call. A couple days after that 150,000 men joined a White Dudes for Harris call. All three calls raised millions of money supporting the Harris campaign, and featured well-known celebrities adding their voices for support. Since then, there has also been a mass movement among Black Men for Kamala Harris. I did not attend any of the calls but have joined the movement by adding my financial support and voice to the cause of Kamala Harris for president and former Minnesota governor Tim Walz for vice-president. In so doing I want to explore some of the key issues in the campaign. So, I thought I would start with an easy one 😊-immigration!
The Trump Campaign Message on Immigration. and His Role in the Creating Chaos
Right out of the gate the Trump campaign has made the immigration crisis at the southern border a major emphasis in his speeches and political ads, first against Biden and now Harris. He has referred to Harris as the “border czar” and claims she failed to stop millions of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. He then links the flow of undocumented migrants into the United States to increased crimes such as rape, the distribution of illegal drugs like fentanyl, and an increased financial burden on American taxpayers. Trump’s message blames Harris for this inflow of immigrants (which he callls an “invasion”) whom he describes in degrading, animalistic imagery. It’s not a pretty picture, to be sure.
However, Trump fails to even hint that he might have contributed to the border chaos he criticizes. The U.S. Congress has not been able to pass a meaningful immigration bill since Ronald Reagan was president nearly 30 years ago. George W. Bush tried and was rebuffed by his own party. Barack Obama was able to pass the DREAM Act which allowed people brought illegally to this country when they were children to assume many of the rights and privileges of all American young adults but have not been granted citizenship as Obama had hoped.
Trump’s Role in the Creating Chaos
In the fall of 2023 President Biden along with Senator Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell and representatives from both parties hammered out a bipartisan proposal focused on border security. Neither side got everything they wanted, but the bill did provide for more border patrols, more judges at the border to process each case, and guidelines that would limit the number of migrants allowed in each day. Donald Trump sent a clear signal to Congressional Republicans to not support the bill so he could make immigration a key issue in the election. So as much as Trump crows about how Harris is responsible for the immigration problem, he fails to acknowledge his own role in creating the very chaos he criticizes.
Not only that, but his ads are filled with outright lies. The crime rate among immigrants is much lower than other U.S. citizens. The illegal trade is not conducted at the border but in container ships and airplane drops and other less obvious entries. Immigrants contribute significantly to the economy in the agricultural sector, landscaping, food processing and other manufacturing jobs. Moreover, they pay taxes, contribute Social Security and don’t draw on the welfare costs because they are not eligible if they are undocumented.
Immigration Reform IS a Knotty Problem
No doubt we have a long way to go in addressing the complex immigration crisis. Primarily Kamala Harris’ role within the administration was to address the “root causes” of immigration in countries like Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala suffering intense poverty and governmental corruption which has caused so many citizens in those countries to make the long and dangerous trek to the U.S. southern border. Obviously, there is still much work to be done in that area and improvement in efforts to slow the flow of people desperately seeking to enter this country. Trump’s proposal is to make a broad sweep of the immigrant population in an effort at mass deportation. His plan is a return to treating people like animals, putting them in mass cages and separating parents and children as a cruel and ineffective deterrent.
Kamala’s Response
In one ad critical of Kamala Harris’ role in immigration quotes her saying: “We will not treat these people as criminals.” While the Republicans want to put the “criminal” label on the migrants, the vast majority are just trying to survive. If that is criminal, count me out.
In February 2024 Harris released a statement urging the passage of the bipartisan immigration bill. While she was advocating for its passage, Trump was telling his Republican allies to block passage. So, when we talk about who’s to blame for the border crisis, Trump must be held accountable too.
Trump has courted conservative Christians to his cause which when it comes to the issue of immigration, I find ironic. Throughout the Old and New Testament, the call upon the Christian community is to welcome and care for the widow, the orphan and the foreigner. Perhaps Trump’s Christian supporters should meditate on that fact and its relevance to how we handle the foreigner at our borders in desperate need. If Kamala Harris is elected president, she will consider what it means to treat migrants in need as human beings with dignity deserving of humane and compassionate treatment. That is the right approach.
Image from Creative Commons