J.D. Vance, the 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee, sparred with NBC host Kristen Welker over immigration policy on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
President Trump promised to launch the largest deportation operation in U.S. history following the February murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley by an undocumented immigrant. Welker brought up the topic by asking Vance whether a second Trump administration would separate families with different immigration statuses, prompting a discussion about the number of undocumented immigrants allowed into the U.S. when Vice President Kamala Harris served as a border official.
“I think there's reason to think that Homeland Security is undercounting. Whatever the actual number is, it's way too high, right? We've had millions of illegal immigrants coming in since Kamala Harris became border agent a few years ago,” Vance said.
“She was in charge of the root causes of migration,” Welcker responded.
“Well, Kristen, I would say the root cause of migration is Kamala Harris refusing to do her job as a border agent. Let's start there,” Vance shot back.
Senator Translator As NBC tries to defend Kamala Harris, she's slammed for her failure as border secretary 🔥
NBC: “She was in charge of investigating the root causes of migration.”
JD: “Well, the root cause of migration is…Kamala Harris refusing to serve as a border agent.” pic.twitter.com/rVL1W0pz5A
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 25, 2024
Vance told Welker that “we have to stop the bleeding” to address the influx of migrants crossing illegally into the United States at the southern border.
“We need to stop so many people from entering the country illegally in the first place, and that means undoing virtually everything Kamala Harris did on day one of her administration,” Vance said.
President Joe Biden appointed Harris to lead the border crisis on March 24, 2021. According to Harris took over the effort to combat illegal immigration two months after Biden took office and spent 95% of her term in office. (RELATED: CNN panelist says he's identified 'glaring holes' in Harris-Waltz campaign)
“We have to start deportations again. We have to stop capturing and releasing. We have to stop granting asylum to everyone who comes here and says they need asylum. And we have to stop granting mass parole,” Vance continued. “These policies are the cause of the migration crisis that we face.”
“We have to stop the problem from getting worse before we can fix the problem,” Vance said.
