Republicans trash Kamala Harris after her visit to the southern border: "She owes America an apology, not a photo op"

Kamala Harris visited the southern border less than 50 days before the presidential election. With most Americans disapproving of her border management, which resulted in more than 10 million people entering the country illegally, she visited Douglas, a border town in the key state of Arizona, sparking a wave of Republican criticism.

In her first trip to the border since becoming a Democratic candidate, Harris spoke with Border Patrol agents and walked along a stretch of the border fence.

"They have a tough job and they rightly need support to do their job. They are very dedicated. And so I'm here to talk to them about what we can continue to do to support them. And also to thank them for the hard work that they do," the Democrat said of border agents.

"Under Harris' watch, we have faced an unprecedented border crisis"

Harris' visit to the southern border sparked a wave of criticism from Republicans. One of them was Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), who represents a border district in the House of Representatives.

"I have been consistent in my willingness to work with anyone, from either party, to address the crisis at the border. However, Vice President Harris’ visit to the border smells like nothing more than a photo opportunity to try and score political points. (...) For three and a half years, the Vice President has been in a position to address this crisis, but instead she has ignored it. As a result, border districts, like mine, have suffered under her lack of leadership," the Republican said in a dialogue with Fox News.

Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives, reacted to Harris' visit on his X account, where he wrote: "The Biden-Harris Administration intentionally undermined America’s border security 64 times. Kamala’s border trip is a sad and desperate attempt to convince the American people she actually cares about protecting our homeland."

He was joined by Darrell Issa, R-California, whose San Diego-based district includes about 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

"What followed? America’s deadliest drug crisis ever, the unprecedented trafficking of women and girls, and 10 million illegals allowed to enter the country and stay. Kamala owes America an apology, not a photo op," he added.

Another who reacted to Harris' visit was Monica de la Cruz (R-TX), who insisted on commenting on the results of the Democratic administration's border management.

"It’s no coincidence that this last-minute visit comes as polls show Harris struggling in Arizona. Despite the photo ops, the fact remains [that] under Harris’s watch, we’ve faced an unprecedented border crisis, a stark contrast to the secure border we had under President Trump," the congresswoman said.

Trump's reaction

Donald Trump joined the wave of criticism against his opponent in the upcoming November presidential elections. The Republican commented on data recently released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which show that there are tens of thousands of illegal immigrants convicted of crimes on the loose in the United States.

According to the cited data, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with criminal charges pending. These figures show 62,231 people convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of robbery, 56,533 drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. In turn, 2,521 people have convictions for kidnapping and 15,811 for sexual assault.

"JUST OUT: 13,000 people convicted of murder have crossed into our Country through Kamala Harris’ Open Border - NON DETAINED, NON CITIZEN, CONVICTED CRIMINALS! I’ve been saying this from the beginning of the Harris-Biden Administration, as soon as I learned they opened the Borders. Nobody who has allowed this to happen to our Country is fit to be President of the United States! Bad timing for her to show up to the Border today, after not going for four years. Why didn’t she release these numbers earlier?" Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social network.

DHS Officials Dispute Trump’s Claims

According to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who spoke to multiple media outlets, the data referenced by Trump "goes back decades" and "includes individuals who entered the country over tne past au vears or more."

Michelle Mittelstadt, spokesperson for the Migration Policy Institute, echoed this in an interview with FactCheck.org. She noted that the current number of non-citizens convicted in the U.S. "has grown under multiple administrations, includine the Trump one." She added, "A significant number of people... have been on [the list of convicted non-citizens] for decades."