Aug
In a recent op-ed titled “Kamala Harris Made Progress on the Border Crisis,” Katie Tobin lauds Vice President Kamala Harris “root causes” strategy for addressing migration challenges. Tobin’s perspective seems influenced by her dissatisfaction with former President Donald Trump’s Latin America policies. She argues that the Biden administration has adopted a different and more effective approach.
Questioning Policy Effectiveness
Yet, evaluating policy success requires looking at concrete outcomes rather than intentions. In June, over 130,000 individuals were apprehended at the southwestern border. Although this represents a decrease from last year’s peak, the figure remains significantly higher compared to the levels observed during the Trump presidency. It is also higher than the levels seen during the Obama presidency. According to Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, the Biden administration has overseen the entry of up to four million undocumented immigrants.
Challenges of Root Causes Approach
The vice president’s strategy to tackle the “root causes” of migration appears to have fallen short of its objectives. The difficulty in changing the fundamental causes of complex social issues, such as mass illegal immigration, has long been recognized. This fundamental nature often renders such efforts ineffective.
Deterrence vs. Root Causes
A more pragmatic approach might involve focusing on what policies can actually influence: incentives. In the context of illegal immigration, this translates to adopting deterrence strategies. Trump’s presidency demonstrated the effectiveness of such measures, and the Biden administration has also succeeded in reducing border apprehensions. Biden’s team attributes this decrease to adjustments in asylum policies rather than changes in the economic conditions of Central America.
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Evaluating Harris’s Impact
Tobin’s claim of progress under Kamala Harris leadership remains debatable. Harris secured over $5 billion in U.S. direct investment in Central America from May 2021 to June 2024. However, this amount is relatively small compared to the more than $425 billion invested by the U.S. In the region during the same timeframe.
Harris’s influence also extended to urging Central American leaders to uphold the rule of law, though this advocacy seems to have had limited impact compared to prior efforts. Additionally, her role in installing an anticorruption government in Guatemala and restricting visas for nearly 300 individuals appears minimal. This seems insignificant when compared to the overall context.
Continued Migration Challenges
Despite a 72% drop in border crossings from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras between March 2021 and June 2024, total encounters at the border increased by 7% during this period. This timeframe starts in March 2021, right after Biden rolled back Trump’s border policies, and encounters have remained high, ranging from 196% to 389% of January 2021 figures. Throughout the debate, Tobin continues to place the blame on Trump, overlooking the complexities of the ongoing migration crisis.
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