Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have changed her mind about building a wall along the southern border by backing the legislation negotiated between the White House and conservative Republicans. In her speech at the Democratic National Convention, as well as several campaign rallies, the Vice President stated clearly that she would sign the bipartisan agreement into law as President. The bill includes provisions to construct a wall along the southern border.
Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, who negotiated the bill, confirmed that it “requires the Trump border wall” and even describes, in detail, how it will be built and what height it will be. According to Lankford, the estimated cost is $650 million – much lower than the $18 billion requested by Trump during his administration.
The Harris campaign has responded to allegations of flip-flopping by the Vice President, stating that the wall is only one aspect of the new border bill, which Donald Trump tried to kill because it was politically harmful to him.
The legislation allows the Department of Homeland Security to shut down the border if migrant crossings exceed specified figures—above 4,000 per day—and cracks down on migrants who try to cross more than once. The bill also provides extra funding for thousands more Customs and Border Patrol personnel, asylum officers, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff.
GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell supported the deal but was unable to convince fellow Republicans, under pressure from Donald Trump. Democrats said that the legislation’s collapse in the Senate stunned them, given that McConnell not only backed the bill but helped to write it. He could not, however, persuade more than four GOP colleagues to vote it through. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut described the situation as “really worrying,” while commentators said it indicated Trump’s immense power over the Republican Party.
Donald Trump said he opposed the deal because it was “horrible” and would have allowed thousands of migrants to enter the US every week. Joe Biden, however, insists Trump was motivated by self-interest and killed the bill so he could continue to campaign on a border crisis ticket.
