Visit to US border

Harris wants reform of “broken migration system”

Kamala Harris visited the US border with Mexico at the end of the week.(Bild: APA/AFP/Rebecca NOBLE)

Kamala Harris has visited the border with Mexico for the first time in her role as US presidential candidate. At a campaign event in the border town of Douglas in the state of Arizona, the Democrat promised that as president she would work to protect the borders and fix the "broken immigration system". 

"The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than political games and her own personal political future," she said, referring to her opponent Donald Trump.

Fierce attacks from Trump
Harris wants to prevent Trump from returning to the White House in the US presidential election on November 5. Her trip comes in the middle of the hot phase of the US election campaign, in which the issue of migration plays a central role.

In her speech in Douglas in the US state of Arizona, Harris promised to fix the "broken immigration system" and to protect the US border.(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

As US Vice President, Harris was responsible for migration, among other things. Trump has repeatedly attacked the 59-year-old fiercely on this issue and accused her of failing. In a speech on Friday, the Republican presidential candidate said that Harris had let "criminals and murderers" into the country and turned small American towns into "devastated refugee camps".

USA a country of immigrants
Harris emphasized that the USA is also a country of immigrants. The country has been "enriched by generations of people who have come from all corners of the world to make a contribution". The immigration system must be reformed, it must work and it must be humane. Her aim is to find solutions.

Kamala Harris during her visit to the US border with Mexico(Bild: APA/AFP/Rebecca NOBLE)

The situation at the border remains tense, with authorities overloaded in many places. US President Joe Biden recently tightened the asylum rules for migrants entering illegally from Mexico. The number of unauthorized border crossings has fallen - albeit from a record level. Many people fleeing poverty, violence and political crises in their home countries choose to cross the southern border.