Kamala Harris points to Congress on delayed asylum crackdown during 60 minutes interview

Sponsored Ad

In a "60 Minutes" interview aired on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed questions about why the Biden-Harris administration waited until 2023 to implement stricter asylum restrictions, despite record levels of border crossings starting in 2021. Harris emphasized that Congress plays a key role in fixing the immigration system, stating that the first bill the administration proposed focused on border reforms, but it was not acted upon by Congress.

Harris responded to the host, Bill Whitaker, who questioned the delay in asylum restrictions, by saying that the administration had been working on solutions from day one but needed bipartisan support from Congress. She pointed to recent successful border security efforts, including tightened asylum measures introduced in June, which led to a dramatic decrease in border crossings.

Harris, whose vice presidential portfolio includes migration from Latin America, noted that the administration's policies are designed to solve the problem, not exacerbate it. She reiterated that the administration’s goal has always been to address the root causes of migration.