CHICAGO.- Vice President Kamala Harris promised to bring back the bipartisan border security and immigration bill for approval in Congress and enactment.
“Last year, Joe [Biden] and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades [tuvo] support for the Border Patrol,” he recalled.
He then criticized former President Donald Trump for blocking the plan, echoing several lawmakers on the third night of the convention at the United Center.
“Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he employed his allies in Congress to kill the bill,” he said. “I refuse to play politics with our security.”
It was then that he promised to resume the project, if he wins on November 5.
“As president, I will bring back the bipartisan security bill that I will be signing into law. I know that we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system,” she said.
The project is a plan highly criticized by immigrant advocates, as it would complicate asylum applications and does not open the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, so it is not clear whether Vice President Harris – if she wins on November 5 – will resume that plan or suggest amendments.
However, the vice president defended the importance of protecting the border and maintaining American values on immigration.
“We, as citizens, and by securing our border […] We must also be steadfast in promoting our security and values abroad,” he said, directing his message toward defending and respecting the U.S. military.
What does the immigration bill include?
The bipartisan bill, which was twice defeated in the Senate, included at least $13 billion for provisions to help reduce migrant crossings at the southern border and strengthen the asylum system.
The deal was coordinated by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, independent of Arizona.
The plan would raise the bar for asylum, expel those who don’t qualify and expedite cases for those who do.
It does not contemplate immigration relief for millions of undocumented immigrants, but would give the president in office the power to close the border to control the flow of migrants.
Leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), including its chairwoman, Nanette Barragán (California), spoke out in May against the bill and defended a plan like the Dream Act, as well as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
“The Senate’s border bill once again fails to rise to the occasion by putting forward policies that focus solely on law enforcement and fail to include provisions that keep families together,” said a position statement from the Hispanic congressmen.