Kamala Harris vows to cut fentanyl flow to US, urges China to boost crackdown on precursor chemicals
Harris also pledged to tighten border security and accused Trump of blocking a bill that would have stemmed the flow of fentanyl
Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris visited the US-Mexico border for the first time in her 2024 presidential campaign on Friday, calling for tighter asylum restrictions and vowing to make stopping fentanyl from entering the US a “top priority”.
Harris outlined her plans to fix “our broken immigration system” in Douglas, Arizona, a border town of fewer than 17,000 people, while accusing her Republican rival Donald Trump of “fanning the flames of fear and division” over the impact of immigrants on American life.
Harris called for more punitive measures for people crossing the border illegally, following an asylum ban for those entering the US illegally established by President Joe Biden this year.
“I will take further action to keep the border closed between ports of entry. Those who cross our borders unlawfully will be apprehended and removed and barred from re-entering for five years,” Harris said.
“We will pursue more severe criminal charges against repeat violators, and if someone does not make an asylum request at a legal point of entry and instead crosses our border unlawfully, they will be barred from receiving asylum,” she said.
But Harris also said that her policy would forge a path for a humane immigration programme.
