Some mainstream media outlets are now trying to downplay Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in leading the Biden administration’s border policy — claiming she was never “border czar,” despite having previously been given the title.
The outburst began during an Axios story Wednesday that said Harris “never had” the title of “border czar.”
Critics were quick to point to an April 2021 article on the site that claimed Harris had been “appointed by Biden as border czar.”
After being called out, Axios issued an editor’s note to acknowledge that “Axios was among the outlets that wrongly labeled Harris a ‘border czar’ in 2021.”
Axios did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The debate over whether Harris was the “border czar” — a label given to her by Republican critics — is significant.
Trump’s campaign is already working to tie him to the administration’s border policy, which polls show was one of President Biden’s biggest weaknesses.
In March 2021, President Joe Biden tapped Harris for a role in handling issues driving immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
He even said at the time that it would help stem the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the US-Mexico border.
“I’ve asked her, the VP, today — because she’s the most qualified person to do so — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and countries that help — we’re going to need help to stem the movement of so many people, to stem migration at our southern border,” Biden said at the time.
In addition to Axios, Time also published an article on Tuesday titled, “Kamala Harris Was Never Biden’s ‘Border Czar.’ Here’s What She Really Did,” making the claim that “Harris was never put in charge of policy of the border or immigration”.
USA Today also published a “fact check” saying that “Harris’s border work was on the ‘root causes’ of migration; she was not in charge.”
“Harris was never put in charge of the border or became ‘border czar,'” immigration experts said. President Joe Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration’s diplomatic efforts to address the “root causes” of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras,” USA Today reported in its fact-check.
Harris’ first overseas trip was to Guatemala, where she told migrants “don’t come” to the U.S. while stressing the administration’s goal to “discourage illegal migration.”
However, 8 million migrants still crossed the southern border after that, as previously reported by The Post.
Much of her role has focused on investing billions of dollars in Central America to create jobs, crack down on corruption, address crime issues that are driving migrants out of the region.
Harris has nearly won the Democratic presidential nomination since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed her, along with nearly every major Democrat.
Former President Donald Trump held a call with reporters on Tuesday to discuss Harris’ role as ‘border czar’, where he criticized him for allowing millions of immigrants to enter the country illegally.
“Harris was named ‘border czar’ in March of 2021, and since then, millions upon millions of illegal aliens have invaded our country and countless Americans have been killed by immigrant crime because of her willful destruction of America’s borders and laws,” Trump said. said.
As part of her role, Harris made a single visit to the southern border in El Paso, Texas, in June 2021.
Sources who were present for the tour told The Post that the trip was a “rushed” and “sanitized” version of the situation as they were instructed to send as many migrants as they could before the vice president landed in the area.
A spokesman for Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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