Staff Reports
Kamala Harris once again found herself on a stage, this time at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute conference, delivering her firmly established brand of political gymnastics. In yet another attempt to strike a balance between safeguarding the border and pandering to the left’s base, Harris touted an “earned pathway” to citizenship for those young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally. This has become her go-to strategy, trying to win favor with potentially conflicting factions of her party while giving a wink and a nod to those who care about border security.
The vice president insisted that the nation could secure the border and provide citizenship opportunities simultaneously, as if attempting to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle. This soul-pulling act doesn’t seem to satisfy either camp—pro-immigration advocates likely see her as too slow, while border security supporters probably wonder if they should start stockpiling barbed wire and building DIY walls in their backyards. This fine line is something Harris has expertly walked, showing political flexibility but leaving even her supporters questioning which side of the fence she truly leans on.
JUST IN: Kamala Harris to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus: "We can do both—create an earned pathway to citizenship and ensure our border is secure," warns, "We all remember what they did to tear families apart. Now they’ve pledged the largest mass deportation in American… pic.twitter.com/DY03SfprTy
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 18, 2024
Back when Harris was a presidential hopeful in 2020, she made the now somewhat forgettable statement about limiting the separation of families at the border. Now, in an apparent moment of political evolution—or maybe just reelection campaign strategy—she claims she’ll push for stronger border protections while retaining her beloved promise of citizenship. These statements seem to indicate that, come election season, everything is on the table, including the possibility of Harris changing her entire platform once more to align with whatever the wind decides.
The timing of her speech could hardly be a coincidence; just days into Hispanic Heritage Month, Harris is clearly angling for the Latino vote in a way that would make a used car salesman proud. It’s not entirely unlike waving a shiny object in front of a crowd to distract them from the hard truths around policy failures that have dominated the Biden administration’s approach to immigration.
Naturally, Harris took the opportunity to critique Donald Trump’s earlier policies, painting them as draconian family separations while conveniently ignoring the facts surrounding chaotic border management. Her pointed warnings about mass deportations and the supposed ramp-up of raids he has promised have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, likely aimed at energizing the base that is afraid of a return to any semblance of tough immigration policy trumpeted in years gone by.
As the immigration debate revs its engines as a pivotal issue in the upcoming election cycle, Harris’s mixed bag of policies may leave voters scratching their heads. With survey results showing wide public support for both pathways to citizenship and deportations, it appears the electorate is navigating this slippery slope with skepticism. Voters might eventually tire of political tightrope walking, especially as they watch their leaders flip-flop on issues instead of tackling them head-on.
