by James D. Agresti
In the article titled “Harris changes mind on building border wall,” Axios reports that Kamala Harris suddenly pledged “hundreds of millions of dollars for a wall along the southern border.”
This claim is demonstrably false and is based on a misrepresentation. Senate Border Act of 2024which has been repeatedly wrongly presented as a “harsh” border bill.
The Axios article, written by Alex Thompson and Hans Nichols, claims that Harris promised to build a wall because she announced at the Democratic National Convention last week that she would “ sign the last bipartisan border security bill.” And according to a statement obtained by Axios from Republican Sen. James Lankford (OK), the bill “requires Trump’s border wall.”
These claims are misleading for two reasons.
First, Harris’ support for the bill is nothing modern or noteworthy, as Axios suggests to its readers. Biden has repeatedly lobbied for vote on the billDemocrats in the Senate overwhelmingly he voted for thatand Harris led TV commercial before the convention boasting that he “supports” the bill.
Secondly, the text of the Act itself provides for the “availability” of funds for the construction of a border barrier, but does not impose an obligation to build it. Pages 76–78 The draft bill contains an operative text that:
- allocates “funds” that “will remain available until September 30, 2028” for a “steel pedestrian barrier.”
- leaves the decision on whether the wall will be built to the Secretary Internal securitywho is he under the authority President.
These facts are reinforced by pages 76–77 bill, which documents that funds for the border barrier were “made available” in laws passed in 2020 and 2021 but have not been spent.
In compact, Axios wrongly views the availability of funds as a requirement for their employ.
As he explained U.S. Government Accountability Office“Congress typically grants an agency budget authority to spend over a specific period of time… However, agencies do not always obligate and spend these funds on time, ultimately resulting in the cancellation of appropriations.”
“Hard” border bill
The Axios article joins a long line of claims that falsely portray the Senate Border Act as challenging. It’s a common topic of conversation among Democrats, such as:
- Joe Biden, who called “This is the toughest border control in history.”
- U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut), who called “This is the toughest border security law in decades.”
- Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who he said the bill “would introduce the toughest border protection measures in decades.”
- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (NM), who called “This is the toughest border security legislation in history.”
- Kamala Harris, who called “This is the toughest border control law in decades.”
In fact, the bill 370 pages legal jargon is riddled with loopholes that codify Biden open borders policy. Chris Murphy, the Democratic architect of the bill, written these provisions in a moment of candor while trying to sell the bill to his supporters:
- “The border never closes.”
- Asylum applications are “processed without detention and in a non-confrontational manner.”
- “Most asylum seekers can start working immediately.”
- “Slightly higher standards of asylum control apply at the border.”
- “All immigrants” receive “completely new right to legal representation.”
- Permissions to disable “can only be used for a limited number of days per year” and “sunsets within 3 years.”
- “Emergency cases occurring between ports still need to be accommodated.”
- “Ports must process at least 1,400 claims per day.”
- There is a “new path to citizenship for Afghans released on parole (Afghans’ Adjustment Act) and children of H1B visa holders.”
In stark contrast, House Republicans He passed AND Bill which would allow the wall to be built and the loopholes used by Biden to be closed make it possible AND entice illegal immigration. However, 100% of House Democrats voted against this and the senators-democrats I put it on the shelf.Words Congressional Budget OfficeRepublican bill:
- “require DHS to build at least 900 miles of walls and physical barriers.”
- “require the federal government to detain arriving aliens or to send them back.”
- a ban on “issuing work permits merely for crossing the border at the port of entry.”
- “limit both the eligibility rules” and “the circumstances in which asylum may be granted.”
- “introduce a new penalty for overstaying a visa.”
- “require all U.S. employers to use E-Verify, the federal online employment eligibility verification system.”
- “significantly limit” the President’s ability to “grant parole.”
AND Gallup survey survey in June found that 77% of U.S. adults consider the “situation at the U.S.-Mexico border” a “crisis” or “serious problem.” In portraying Harris and Democrats as tough on the border, Axios and other media outlets like ABC they are misleading voters about deadly consequences.
Why does Trump oppose the Senate bill?
Another nonsense in same Axios article is the claim that Trump “ordered his allies to kill” the border bill in the Senate, “fearing it would help Democrats in the November election.”
This typical accusation Is derivative from a post Trump made on Social truth in which he stated that “this bill is a great gift to the Democrats and a death wish for the Republican Party.”
Contrary to Democrat and the media spin that Trump opposes the bill because he doesn’t want the border crisis to be resolved before the election, Trump wrote in exactly the same post that the bill must be rejected because:
- “only grants Closure Powers after 5,000 Encounters per day, when we already have the power TO CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which needs to be done.”
- “takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats did on immigration and the border, exonerates them, and puts all the blame on the Republicans.”
In compact, the claim that Kamala Harris promised to build a border wall has no basis in fact and reinforces the counterfactual propaganda that Democrats are mighty on border security. Meanwhile, Democrats have universally opposed a mighty border bill, and objective measures show that under the Biden-Harris administration, the border has been significantly less secure than at any time in the country’s history.
– – –
James D. Agresti is president of Just Facts, a think tank dedicated to publishing factual information about public policy issues.
Photo “Kamala Harris” by Kamala Harris, photo: Kamala Harris
