Freshened up, rested, and ready, Vice President Kamala Harris is on the move: jetting cross country to campaign for hopeful and somewhat panicked Democrats, enjoying brief jaunts to Paris, Latin America, and other diplomatic-style missions in Vietnam and Singapore. But guess where she is not going anytime soon? That would be the US border with Mexico. The public official given responsibility by President Joe Biden to address illegal immigration has moved on to greener political pastures.
In telling detail, the Los Angeles Times analyzed the vice president’s public schedule since her swearing in, and the results may not surprise those who believe that there is indeed a crisis on the border. Since dipping her toe into El Paso, TX, last June, Harris has not been anywhere near the international boundary. And that visit to the Border Patrol station and the El Paso del Norte Port of Entry was mocked by some as the least problematic location in the Rio Grande Valley sector.
Harris has not hosted or attended an immigration-themed event since August 2021, when she met with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander leaders at the White House. Has the vice president given up on what almost everyone can admit is a full-blown crisis? Or is she purposely avoiding any unresolved issue that might sully electoral efforts once the next presidential contest is underway?
Cherry-Picking the Easy Tasks
Kamala Harris (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Harris may not be focusing on the border, but her schedule does depict a woman in motion. She is concentrating on stumping for congressional candidates in battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In addition, she is a frequent flier to California to visit her Brentwood home. Harris also spends a lot of time in and around the Swamp, representing the president on such pet issues as Build Back Better and a progressive green energy platform.
But over time, Harris seems to have drifted away from meetings and events that feature the dynamic duo together and stepped back from one-on-one visits with world leaders. And when it comes to her high-profile project of revamping states’ voting rights, no one talks about that anymore. She has slammed the brakes on any event that refers to the pandemic, Afghanistan, or, of course, her major assignment: the growing and dangerous disaster on the southern border.
The White House claims the public schedule doesn’t tell the whole story, and Harris spokesperson Kirsten Allen has publicly talked back, stating, “The vice president continues to lead implementation of the Root Causes Strategy and has been engaging with Cabinet and other Administration officials on this effort.” Whatever that means.
It’s Not Working
Ostensibly charged with curbing the border crisis, Harris appears to have devoted scant time to ferreting out “root causes” or finding solutions for the Americans unfairly burdened by surging and unchecked migration. No one is surprised, but people are clearly disillusioned by the Biden administration’s apathy when it comes to national security.
What is the point of having an unpopular person waiting around to run for president? Harris just didn’t have the gumption to spend time at border towns and crossings to understand more about her task at hand and seek out actionable solutions. And her schedule tells us another critical point: Spending strategic time with Joe Biden is not something important enough to add to the docket.
