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Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched a scathing attack on Vice President Kamala Harris' after she visited Texas without stopping at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Abbott said Harris "couldn't trouble herself" to visit the border as she made her first trip to Texas since President Joe Biden announced he would no longer seek reelection and endorsed his Vice President.
Harris has been under increasing pressure over what Republicans view as a lack of leadership surrounding immigration policy.
"Kamala Harris flew to Houston for a political rally, but couldn't trouble herself to go a few hundred miles more & see the damage she caused to our border. She refused to mention Jocelyn Nungaray who was recently killed by illegal immigrants in Houston," Abbott said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Harris arrived in Houston on Wednesday, where she was welcomed by Mayor John Whitmire and local officials.
Harris was briefed on Hurricane Beryl's recovery efforts, with a visit to Houston's Office of Emergency Management to with local law enforcement and emergency responders.
Harris has been criticised by GOP lawmakers for her approach to immigration, as well as by the progressive left in the Democratic Party.
She drew criticism in 2021 after an NBC interview in which she was repeatedly pressed on whether she had visited the border as VP to see the crisis for herself, eventually admitting that she had not.
"I haven't been to Europe either," she added.
Immigration is the most hotly contested topic in the race for the White House.
Rep. Jim McGovert said in a post on X, that Republicans are attempting to "slander" Harris "by falsely claiming she was border czar."
Immigration is one of the key issues in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential Election as the race for the White House takes another twist and turn after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and Joe Biden withdrew following pressure.
A recent poll by Gallup suggests that for the first time since 2005, more than half of Americans want immigration levels to reduce, indicating a shift in attitudes and bi-partisan support for greater border security.
Furthermore, a poll published on 22 July shows Trump is seen as better than Harris at handling immigration (+15), compared to the incumbent Vice President.
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About the writer
Billal Rahman is an immigration reporter based in London, U.K. He specializes in immigration policy and border security. He has ... Read more