Harris again pushes amnesty, slams GOP govs for ‘dereliction of duty’ in sending migrants north

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Kamala Harris heads to Texas for dinner with donors—should she visit the border?

People in Austin weigh in on whether Vice President Kamala Harris should visit the southern border to witness the border crisis during her trip to Texas.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday accused Republican governors of a "dereliction of duty" in transporting migrants north into liberal cities and jurisdictions, while renewing her calls for solutions to the migrant crisis – including amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

Harris was asked on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" about the transportation of migrants north by Republican governors in the south of the country. 

"We’re talking about people who are fleeing great harm, they've fled great harm and they are seeking refuge. And talk about political theater, playing games with people's lives. There are mothers with sleeping babies getting off those buses," she said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says that it has so far transported over 8,000 migrants to Washington D.C., over 3,000 to New York City and nearly 1,000 to Chicago. Arizona has also bussed migrants to Washington D.C., while Florida has flown migrants approximately 50 to Martha’s Vineyard.

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Vice President Kamala Harris hasn't visited the southern border since June 2021 despite leading the effort to address the migrant surge. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The states have said that they are filling the gap left by federal inaction on the border crisis, which has exploded since Biden took office -- with more than 200,000 migrant encounters a month and more than 2.1 million encounters this fiscal year. The crisis have left border towns and cities overwhelmed, with even the Democratic mayor of El Paso sending migrants north to relieve overcrowding in his city.

But the Republican transports have sparked outrage from Democrats, both in the White House and in the cities -- which have declared emergencies and demanded federal assistance, although their numbers are just a fraction of those being encountered at the border. They have accused Republicans of political gamesmanship and a lack of communication and coordination.

Harris on Monday again tore into the governors.

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"I just think it's an absolute dereliction of duty," she said. "If you see a problem, and we agree we need to address it then if you're a leader, participate in a solution, right?"

Harris then highlighted the immigration reform bill introduced by the White House and Senate Democrats in early 2021, which included sweeping immigration reforms -- with a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants as its centerpiece. It ultimately stalled due to a lack of any Republican support, which was needed to get it to the president's desk.

"When we first came into office the first bill we proposed was for a pathway to citizenship, was to fix a broken immigration system that was broken under the previous administration," she said.

"Participate in the solution because we are offering solutions," she said.

Harris was given the task of leading diplomatic outreach to Western Hemisphere countries to tackle the "root causes" of the crisis, but has come under fire from Republicans for not having visited the border since last summer. 

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Harris’ remarks are the latest pro-amnesty rhetoric out of the administration and Democrats in Congress.

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Harris said last month that there was "no question" that a pathway to citizenship for millions was a top priority.

"We also have to put into place a law and a plan for a pathway for citizenship for the millions of people who are here and are prepared to do what is legally required to gain citizenship," she said.

Efforts to implement such a path have failed due to almost universal Republican opposition, particularly given the ongoing border crisis. With a 50-50 split in the Senate, Democrats would need 10 Republican lawmakers to back any proposal. Democrats attempted to push amnesty through the Senate last year via the budget reconciliation process but failed when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., withdrew his support.

In recent days, Democrats and the White House have been pushing for more limited pathways in the wake of a court ruling last week that kept the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on ice.

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Since then, Democrats have been pushing for a deal that would give a citizenship pathway to DACA recipients -- who came to the country as minors. Currently they are protected from deportation on a renewable status.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters that he can count "four or five" Republicans who privately support a DACA pathway, but the remaining five or six of the 10 that would be needed are still "in doubt."