Harris' border work was on 'root causes' of migration; she wasn't in charge | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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The claim: Kamala Harris was 'put in charge of the border'

A July 21 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) by Donald Trump Jr. blames Vice President Kamala Harris for the country's immigration problems.

"She was put in charge of the border and we saw the worst invasion of illegals in our history!!!" reads part of the post, which is a screenshot of a post from X, formerly Twitter.

Similar posts on Threads have described Harris as the Biden administration's "border czar."

The Instagram post was liked more than 200,000 times in a day.

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Our rating: False

The post exaggerates the vice president's role in addressing migration at the southern border. Harris was never put in charge of the border or made "border czar," immigration experts said. President Joe Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration's diplomatic efforts addressing the "root causes" of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Harris led effort addressing 'root causes' of migration in Central America

Early in his presidency, Biden tasked Harris with addressing the “root causes” of migration in Central America. The assignment came out of an executive order Biden issued in February 2021 that sought to reduce migration from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, where gang violence, trafficking networks and economic insecurity have caused people to flee.

But the vice president’s role was more limited than being put in charge of the southern border, or being named a so-called “border czar,” immigration experts said.

"VP Harris was never made the border czar or charged with managing the border," Andrew Salee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, said in an email. "That role has always been held by the secretary of Homeland Security. She was asked to be the chief diplomatic officer with Central American countries at a time when most of the increase in unauthorized immigration was coming from three countries in Central America and to help lead a private investment strategy in the region."

Mayorkas himself noted the different responsibilities between himself and Harris in June 2021 comments at the El Paso, Texas, border.

"The vice president is leading our nation’s efforts to address the root causes – that fundamental question of why people leave their homes," Mayorkas said. "And it is my responsibility as the secretary of Homeland Security to address the security and management of our border."

In March 2021, Biden announced Harris would lead the administration's diplomatic efforts with the Northern Triangle countries to stem migration to the U.S. southern border and work with these nations to enhance migration enforcement at their borders. Harris said at the time that the administration "must address the root causes that – that cause people to make the trek, as the president has described, to come here."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council, said the "root causes" work Harris took on is distinct from border policy because it focuses on different problems and targets.

"Border policy focuses on individuals who have already made the decision to leave home and have made it to the U.S.-Mexico border and aims to either prevent them or to quickly process them for humanitarian relief or deportation once they cross," Reichlin-Melnick said in an email. "By contrast, 'root causes' policy focuses on individuals who have not left their homes yet, and aims to convince them to stay in their home countries either through economic development – which discourages migration for economic opportunities – or through reduction of violence and persecution that forces people to seek protection elsewhere."

The White House released the administration's "Root Causes Strategy" in July 2021. Its implementation was ongoing as of March when the vice president and the Partnership for Central America, a non-governmental organization, jointly announced $1 billion in new private-sector commitments to address the underlying conditions leading to migration in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The public-private partnership has generated more than $5.2 billion since May 2021, the White House said.

Fact check: Joe Biden dropped out of presidential race but is finishing term

Elina Treyger, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation whose research includes migration and immigration enforcement, also said Harris' diplomatic role with the Central American countries "is in no way a 'border czar'-like position." Treyger said border policy involves many other issues such as enforcement policies, how to process migrants expressing fear of prosecution or torture and how to allocate resources at the border.

U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the southern border have soared under the Biden administration. Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high of 2.2 million in 2022, and the number of people taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol has reached the highest levels in the agency's history under Biden, the Washington Post reported.

After a bipartisan border security bill failed to advance in Congress, Biden issued a directive in June to turn away migrants who do not enter the country through legal ports of entry when the number of crossings is high.

Trump, the son of former President Donald Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Kamala Harris wasn't put in charge of the U.S. border | Fact check