Kamala Harris on Immigration Democratic candidate for President (withdrawn); California Senator

Sub-sections under Immigration:
• Southern Border
• Visa Reform
• Other issues under Immigration

I'll work with Congress to pass immigration reform

Will bring back the bipartisan border security bill

Address root causes: US investments in Central America

HARRIS: The northern part of Central America.

Q: During the Biden-Harris administration, there were record numbers of illegal border crossings. Why did you wait 3-1/2 years to implement sweeping asylum restrictions?

HARRIS: First of all, the root causes work that I did as vice president, that I was asked to do by the president has actually resulted in a number of benefits, including historic investments by American businesses in that region. The number of immigrants coming from that region has actually reduced since we've began that work. But I will say this: our administration worked with members of the US Congress on a bipartisan bill, which I support. And Donald Trump, because he believes that it would not have helped him politically, he told his folks in Congress, "Don't put it forward." He killed the bill: a border security bill that would've put 1,500 more agents on the border.

Keep families together; expand legal pathways to citizenship

President Biden and I are also expediting work visas for Dreamers who have graduated from college in the United States and have a job offer from a U.S. employer. We value their contributions and want them to continue to unleash their skills, ideas, and potential right here in the country that has invested in their success, to the benefit of our economy and our communities.

We have a broken immigration system and we need to fix it

Root Causes Strategy: $4.2B for stable Central America

In addition, I look forward to working with President Arevalo on expanding private sector investments in Guatemala through Central America Forward, the public-private partnership that has generated more than $4.2 billion in investments in northern Central America. Our nations, working with the private sector and civil society, can build a more inclusive, stable, and prosperous future for the people of Guatemala in Guatemala.

Hold companies liable for hiring non-citizens, not workers

HARRIS: Of course, the employers have to be responsible. They have to do whatever is required by law. But there's another point here, which is that this administration has directed DHS to conduct these raids as part of what I believe is this administration's campaign of terror, which is to make whole, whole populations of people afraid to go to work. Children are afraid to go to school for fear that when they come home, their parents won't be there.

2017: denounced Trump's refugee policy as "Muslim ban"

I disagreed with Obama on Secure Communities deportations

Rep. Eric SWALWELL: No. That person can contribute.

V.P. Joe BIDEN: If they committed a major crime, they should be deported. But we should not be locking people up. We should be making sure we change the circumstance, why they would leave in the first place. Those who come seeking asylum, we should immediately have the capacity to absorb them, keep them safe until they can be heard.

Sen. Kamala HARRIS: No, they should not be deported. This was one of the very few issues with which I disagreed with the [Obama] administration. On the secure communities issue, I disagreed with my president, because the policy was to allow deportation of people who by ICE's own definition were non-criminals. I issued a directive to the sheriffs of my state that they did not have to comply with detainers, and instead should make decisions based on the best interests of public safety of their community.

2008: Supported SF policy reported arrested juveniles to ICE

A Harris spokesman did not address the senator's mischaracterizations when contacted by CNN's KFile. "As Governor Newsom has said, the initial policy was intended to protect the sanctuary status of San Francisco, which Senator Harris has always supported and defended," Harris spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. "We have said this policy should have been done differently."

Re-examine ICE & start from scratch

• Regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Harris believes it's time to "re-examine" the agency and "probably think about starting from scratch."
• She has not joined other Democrats--including 2020 rivals Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand--in explicitly calling for ICE to be abolished.
• Harris was a vocal opponent last year of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, which led to thousands of migrant children being separated from their families at the southwest border.
• Harris co-sponsored the "REUNITE Act," legislation that aimed to reunite families separated at the border.
• Also, Harris introduced a bill to improve oversight at immigration detention centers, and a bill to strengthen protections for unaccompanied migrant children in U.S. custody.
• Harris opposes Trump's border wall proposals, and has called on the White House to end the shutdown and agree to reopen the government.

Zero tolerance is inhumane: end child separation

There are a few things more cruel, more inhumane, more fundamentally evil than ripping a child from her parent's arms. The administration claimed that it wouldn't separate families seeking asylum if they arrived at an official port of entry, as opposed to other parts of the border. But that didn't hold true. Many documented cases of family separation at ports of entry.

An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal

Harris is implying in her words that these foreign nationals are not persistent criminals: "I'm a career prosecutor. I've personally prosecuted everything from low-level offenses to homicides. Unfortunately, I know what crime looks like. I know what a criminal looks like who's committing a crime. An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal."

Rejected Secure Communities program against undocumented

Our border agents need help & 1,500 more agents

I supported border security bill which Trump ordered killed

[Wikipedia FactCheck]: James Lankford (R-OK) was the lead Senate Republican negotiator on a bipartisan bill intended to resolve the Mexico- US border crisis. Senate Republicans swiftly turned against the bill upon its release on Feb. 4, after Donald Trump said he did not want President Biden to score a political win with it. On Feb. 7, Senate Republicans blocked the bill in a floor vote.

Hire thousands more border agents: fix the border

VP Harris: "I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message."

Partner with Mexico to address the root causes of migration

$5.2B public-private investment in Northern Triangle

The Vice President announced that CAF has now generated more than $5.2 billion in private sector commitments for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including $1 billion of new commitments announced today. These private sector investments have already created more than 70,000 jobs in the region, provided skills training for more than 1 million people, brought 2.5 million people into the formal economy, and connected more than 4.5 million people to the internet.

The Vice President convened leaders from government, the private sector, and civil society to discuss next steps for CAF's long-term development effort.

Kids whose parents crossed border are treated like criminals

BENNET: I disagree that we should decriminalize our border.

HARRIS: I went to a place in Florida called Homestead, and there is a private detention facility that currently houses 2,700 children. There were members of Congress there, [including Julian Castro, but] they would not let us enter the place. So I walked down the road, I climbed a ladder, and I looked over the fence. And I'm going to tell you what I saw. I saw children lined up single file based on gender being walked into barracks. The policies of this administration have been facilitated by laws on the books that allow them to be incarcerated as though they've committed crimes. These children have not committed crimes and should be not treated like criminals.

BENNET: There's not a single person on this stage who would ever separate a child from their parents at the border.

Reform system, against "vanity project" of border wall

Welcome refugees and immigrants, instead of a border wall

We need our leaders to speak the biggest truth of all: In the face of powerful forces that have been trying to sow hate and division among us, the truth is that as Americans we have much more in common than what separates us.

Let's fight for an America where we welcome refugees and immigrants, and where we fight for the dignity of all people-- no matter who they are, no matter what they look like or how they identify.

I want you all to listen closely [to Trump's State of the Union]. When you hear claims that our problems would all be solved if we just built a wall on our southern border, don't forget the babies ripped from their mothers' arms and the refugees fleeing violence who are being turned away.

The strength of our union has never been found in the walls we build. It's in our diversity and our unity--and that is our power.

$3M to get lawyers for children from Northern Triangle

In Murrieta, California, several buses carrying roughly 140 undocumented children and parents were on their way to a processing center. A crowd had gathered, blocking the street, waving flags & signs & yelling "Nobody wants you!" "You're not welcome!" "Turn around and go back home!" There were children inside the buses. Their only wrong was that they had fled horrific violence.

I had to do something about this. I sponsored legislation to provide $3 million to other nonprofits that were providing these children with legal representation.

Border wall sends the message "KEEP OUT"

But there was a bigger reason to oppose the border wall. A useless wall on the southern border would be nothing more than a symbol, a monument standing in opposition to not just everything I value, but to the fundamental values upon which this country was built. The Statue of Liberty is the monument that defines to the world who we are. Emma Lazarus's words--"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"--speak true to our true character: a generous country that respects and embraces those who have made the difficult journey to our shores, often fleeing harm. How could I vote to build what would be little more than a monument, designed to send the cold, hard message "KEEP OUT"?

No border wall in any comprehensive bill

"While this bill would put Dreamers on a pathway toward citizenship, the appropriation of $25 billion for a border wall is a waste of taxpayer money," she said. "A wall will not secure our border and I remain concerned those billions of dollars may also be used to implement this Administration's anti-immigrant agenda--one that targets California and its residents."

Those close to Harris maintain that Harris has felt passionately for years about [immigration issues]. In particular, they say protecting dreamers has been her top priority since she was elected to the Senate.

We have to honor the promise made to DREAMers

Harris asked, do you intend to use the limited law enforcement resources of DHS to remove them from the country? "I will follow the law," Kelly said. Kelly was suggesting without stating it directly, that he would oversee a policy that would lead to the deportation of DREAMers. Harris issued a statement saying she would vote against him. "Unfortunately I can't look DREAMers in the face and offer them any guarantee that general John Kelly won't deport them. For ethical and moral reasons, we have to honor the promise the US government made to these kids."

Fight for just & comprehensive immigration reform

"So, guys, here is the deal. Our ideals are at stake right now. We all have to fight for who we are."

Immediately reinstate DACA protection, including parents

Due process & right to counsel, for asylum seekers

Provide lawyers and evidence for children being deported.

This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to appoint or provide counsel at government expense to aliens in removal proceedings.