Harris endorsed by Arizona border mayors amid criticism on immigration
PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted endorsements from mayors of border towns in swing-state Arizona Monday as she looks to blunt the impact of Republican criticism of her handling of illegal border crossings.
Harris’ campaign said she was backed by the mayors of Bisbee, Nogales, Somerton, and San Luis, as well as by Yuma County Supervisors Martin Porchas and Tony Reyes.
A week into her sudden promotion to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, Harris is getting her campaign off the ground and refining her pitch to voters with less than 100 days before Election Day. Republicans are trying to make the border a political liability for Harris just as it was for President Joe Biden before he ended his reelection campaign.
Republicans say Harris did not do enough to clamp down on illegal immigration in a role they characterize as Biden’s “border czar.” House Republicans and a handful of vulnerable Democrats voted last week to rebuke Harris over the administration’s border policies.
The border endorsements, which are part of a slate of Arizona supporters Harris plans to announce Monday, offer a potential retort to that criticism, particularly in the only swing state that shares a border with Mexico.
“I trust her to meet the needs of border cities and towns without taking advantage of us for her own political gain, like her opponent,” Somerton Mayor Gerardo Anaya said in a statement. Somerton is a city of about 14,000 people in the state’s southwestern corner.
As vice president, Harris was tasked with overseeing diplomatic efforts to deal with issues spurring migration in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as pressing them to strengthen enforcement on their own borders. The Biden administration wanted to develop and put in place a long-term strategy that gets at the root causes of migration from those countries.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is the leader that Arizona and our country needs right now. She’s incredibly capable. She’s the fighter Arizona families deserve,” said San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel. “She will make our economy stronger, and make sure it’s working for working families. I trust she’ll take on the issues at the border head on and work with anyone she needs to get the job done.”
Immigration has been at the center of Trump’s political identity since he announced his first campaign in 2015. He paints a picture of a border that is out of control, threatening national security and the economy. If elected to a second term, he’s pledged to deport millions of people living in the country illegally.
Biden has both sought to crack down on new arrivals at the border and to offer new immigration pathways.
The restrictions he announced at the beginning of June cut off asylum access when arrivals at the border reached a certain number, infuriating immigration advocates who say the policy differs little from what Trump attempted. Then a few weeks later Biden announced a new program aimed at undocumented spouses of American citizens who had been in the country for a decade or more that could ultimately provide them a pathway to citizenship.
Border arrests have fallen from record highs last December.
The following Arizona mayors have endorsed Harris for President:
- Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego
- Tucson Mayor Regina Romero
- Mesa Mayor John Giles
- Tempe Mayor Corey Woods
- El Mirage Mayor Alexis Hermosillo
- Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett
- Guadalupe Mayor Valerie Molina
- Somerton Mayor Gerardo Anaya
- San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel
- Superior Mayor Mila Besich
- Tolleson Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez
- Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado
- Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge
- Winslow Mayor Roberta Cano
- Former Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard
- Former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon
- Former Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
- Former Tucson Mayor Tom Volgy
- Former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano
- Former Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell
- Former Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
