Arizona AG Wants Biden To Fire Harris As Border Czar For ‘Abysmal’ Performance, Ignoring Crisis
After weeks of “abysmal” leadership in responding to the immigration crisis, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is calling on President Joe Biden to replace Vice President Kamala Harris as his “border czar.”
Brnovic penned a letter to the Democratic President urging him to appoint another official to lead the government efforts to solve the border emergency as Harris continues to appear without a plan to tackle the situation — declining to visit the border or even to take media questions about the government’s response to the ongoing immigration crisis.
Today I wrote to President Biden requesting he replace VP Harris as "border czar." Since her appointment, there have been more than 200,000 illegal crossings at the southern border. Arizonans are fed up with the failure to restore safety and security. https://t.co/qbQ48snDtO
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) May 12, 2021
“The crisis at our southern border has been escalating since January and is now clearly a catastrophe and tragedy in the making. Like many Americans, I was encouraged by your March 24 appointment of Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the efforts to stem the tidal wave of illegal migration into our country,” Brnovich said on Wednesday.
“However, to date, her response to the border crisis has been absolutely abysmal, so I am requesting that she be replaced as your ‘border czar,’” he added.
The Attorney General of the border state argued that almost two months since her appointment, VP Harris continues to show “little interest” in the border crisis — which has so far shown historic numbers of illegal crossers apprehended daily over the recent months since the inauguration of the new Democratic administration.
“We are not nearly 50 days into her appointment, and Vice President Harris has shown little interest in observing what is happening along the border and has failed to articulate any plan to deal with the devastating effects of this crisis,” Brnovic said.
“Instead, she has traveled to other states for unrelated and less-pressing matters. Mr. President, this is a slap in the face to Arizonans who helped elect you to the highest office in the land,” he continued.
Illegal immigrants have overwhelmed the border since President Biden took office on January 20 as more and more asylum seekers try to gain entry to the United States.
Early on, the Biden administration changed its stance on the United States’ approach to illegal immigration from that of former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, prioritizing processing and release rather than preventing illegal migrants from entering the country.
“The truth is that our border officials are overwhelmed, our law enforcement is understaffed, and local ranchers live in daily fear of threats from Cartel operatives. It is shameful that they are not receiving more federal support,” Brnovich said in his letter to Biden sent Wednesday.
He added: “The latest apprehension numbers from April show that things are getting worse, and we do not yet know the full extent of dangerous people and drugs crossing into our communities.”
The number of illegal immigrants apprehended at the US-Mexico border hit a 21-year high in April with 178,622 people attempting to enter the US, according to data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
This also showed a 3% rise from the already-high numbers seen in March, and the most encounters in a single month since April of 2000, when 182,613 illegal immigrants were intercepted at the southern border.
It's been 50 days since Kamala Harris was appointed the border czar and she still hasn't visited.
Meanwhile, April saw a 21-year high in monthly border apprehensions. She refuses to take this crisis her administration created seriously and it shows.https://t.co/80cE3q3LHg
— Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (@RepGregMurphy) May 13, 2021
Biden admin’s inaction
“Mr. President, we cannot afford another day, week, or month of apathy and inaction by any official in your administration charged with upholding our federal immigration laws and ensuring public safety. What is occurring now at the border and in our communities is reckless and dangerous – to Arizonans, to migrants, and to the security of our great nation,” Brnovich added.
Harris has yet to visit the border nearly two months ago, when she was named to lead the Biden administration’s border response. She has also refused to hold an official press conference for an extended period of time to answer reporters’ questions on the issue and instead, has stated that the US must look beyond the border to the countries from which the refugees are fleeing in order to resolve the border crisis.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said Harris hasn’t gone to the border because she’s working on a “diplomatic level” — and not focusing on the border” which is the ground zero of the spiraling immigration crisis.
Psaki when asked why VP Harris has not visited the southern border
"But I would tell you also that her focus is not on the border. It's on addressing the root causes in the Northern Triangle, and that's why the majority of her time has been spent working on a diplomatic level" pic.twitter.com/LO7KqD2vOh
— Mona Salama (@MonaSalama_) April 26, 2021
“I conclude by respectfully requesting that Vice President Harris be replaced as America’s ‘border czar’ with a federal official who is willing to see the crisis firsthand and to work with state partners to address it,” Brnovich said in his letter to the Democratic President.
“I also request that your administration adopt new border policies that facilitate enhanced transparency with members of Congress, the media, and the American people throughout this crisis. I remain committed to working with anyone in your administration to secure the border and enforce the rule of law.”
