A Republican lawmaker has launched a scathing attack on Vice President Kamala Harris after an illegal immigrant shot a police officer in Texas.
Representative Mark Green, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, hit out at the presumptive Democratic nominee in a statement to Newsweek for what he described as incentivizing “lawlessness at the expense of Americans’ safety.”
Green also gave a blistering assessment of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of immigration and described the situation on the border as a “public safety crisis.”
Immigration and border security are among the most hotly contested topics in the race for the White House.
Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP
Harris is under growing pressure from the right over her immigration policies, despite data showing that illegal migrant border crossings are plummeting under the Biden-Harris administration. Official figures show they have dropped by more than 50 percent in recent months. However, crime by migrants in the country illegally remains a concern, according to Green.
“Make no mistake—every single crime committed by an illegal alien is preventable,” he said. “Yet, President Biden, border czar Vice President Harris, and DHS Secretary Mayorkas continue to incentivize lawlessness at the expense of Americans’ safety. On their watch, millions of insufficiently vetted and screened illegal aliens have been released into American communities.
“Tragically, this included Jorge Chacon-Gutierrez. The Biden-Harris administration’s catch-and-release agenda is not just an affront to the rule of law—it continues to overwhelm not only DHS law enforcement but also the men and women of state and local law enforcement who are serving amid a historic homeland security and public safety crisis.”
Jorge Chacon-Gutierrez, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, died during a shootout with San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officers after critically injuring a San Antonio police officer.
Chacon-Gutierrez was apprehended by border authorities in Eagle Pass, Texas, in November 2023 for unlawfully entering the country, according to Fox News.
Vice presidential candidate JD Vance criticized the Biden-Harris administration after the shooting and said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Our illustrious Border Czar let this guy go free. He just shot a cop. How many more Americans will needlessly suffer because of Kamala’s open border?”
Nathan Howard/AP
GOP members have lined up to brand Harris as the “border czar” after President Joe Biden tasked her with addressing the “root cause” of migration to the U.S. and to stifle the flow of migrants out of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Harris was able to secure $4.2 billion in private-sector investments for employment opportunities in Central America.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries lambasted GOP lawmakers and accused Republicans of “making up” the title of “border czar” during a press conference.
A recent Gallup poll shows 53 percent of respondents support expanding Trump’s flagship border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. This suggests a shift in public attitudes toward illegal migration in the country.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.