Texas politicos launch full-court press against Harris ahead of her border state campaign rally: 'Apologize'
FIRST ON FOX: More than a dozen Texas Republicans, from the governor to members of the U.S. House, slammed Vice President Kamala Harris’ planned visit to the border state Friday, telling Fox News Digital the visit is "one of the dumbest political decisions" they've seen.
"'Border Czar' Kamala Harris can come all the way to Houston where Jocelyn Nungaray was killed by Tren de Aragua gang members that she let into the country, yet she can't be bothered to visit Jocelyn's family or even say her name. Kamala Harris and her open border policies have allowed over 11 million illegal immigrants and dangerous criminals like TdA into our country, putting every American's life at risk," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News Digital.
"President Donald Trump has shown real leadership on the border, with successful border policies that decreased illegal immigration to the lowest level in decades. While Kamala Harris refuses to take real action on this crisis, Texas will continue to step up with our historic border mission until we have a partner in the White House to make America secure again."
Harris will travel to the red state just 10 days ahead of Election Day, and she is expected to speak about the state's abortion policies after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion is a hallmark of the Harris campaign, including Harris saying she supports eliminating the filibuster in an effort to pass a law restoring abortion access nationwide.
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed Harris’ trip to Texas as "one of the dumbest political decisions I’ve ever seen."
"Kamala Harris coming to Texas for a rally is one of the dumbest political decisions I’ve ever seen. She and Colin Allred are not going to win in Texas. I’m glad she is spending the day in Texas instead of campaigning in a swing state with only a few days left in the election. I hope she stays longer. Donald Trump is going to be the next president because the voters are fed up with the Harris-Biden regime and the chaos they’ve created," Patrick said.
Harris will be joined by Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred, who is making a long shot run to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Cruz slammed his Senate opponent in comments to Fox Digital, saying Allred and Harris share the same "radical policies."
"Colin Allred is Kamala Harris. They have spent the last four years working hand-in-hand against Texans and the American people with their radical policies, whether those be pushing to allow boys in girls' sports, allowing dangerous illegal aliens to come into our country or trying to destroy the oil and gas industry in Texas," Cruz said.
"Colin and Kamala share an agenda, and now they'll share a stage for all Texans to see."
As illegal immigration spiraled in 2021, the Biden-Harris administration’s first year in office, President Biden announced Harris would lead the effort to determine the "root causes" of immigration. The administration pointed to issues such as climate change, poverty and violence driving migrants to the U.S.
The media and Republicans dubbed Harris the "border czar" shortly after, with the White House rejecting the title. The title, however, has continued years later, including Texas Republicans this week using the title to slam Harris ahead of her visit.
"Millions of migrants have illegally entered our country on Border Czar Kamala Harris’ watch, so it’s no surprise that she’d rather talk about anything but her abysmal track record on the border. If she can’t control the border, how can she run the country? We’ve never had a more secure border than under President Trump, and he will put a stop to this when he takes office. Nov. 5 can’t come soon enough," Texas Sen. John Cornyn said.
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"Harris’ last-ditch effort to appear serious on border security is more than laughable, it’s dangerous. If she were serious, she would’ve acted as a legitimate ‘Border Czar.’ Instead, she imported over 20 million illegals into our communities where they're rewarded with government benefits, leaving U.S. citizens to be raped and murdered by violent illegal criminals," Rep. Ronny Jackson said.
"Harris admitted that she’s pro-mass amnesty and has gone so far as to support taxpayer-funded transition surgeries for detained illegals. She is the ultimate panderer, and, if elected, will continue her open-border policies. Texans, including our incredible Latino community, do not trust her, which is why they’re projected to turn out in record numbers to vote for Trump."
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Nineteen Texas leaders submitted comments to Fox News Digital slamming Harris’ planned visit, with a handful citing girls and women who have been murdered in recent years, allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants.
"Harris should visit Houston, but not to campaign. She should come to apologize for purposefully allowing Texas border counties to be overrun and allowing young Houstonians like Jocelyn Nungaray to be murdered by the people she allowed in," Rep. Dan Crenshaw said.
Twelve-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was sexually assaulted and murdered by strangulation when two illegal immigrants in their 20s allegedly lured the young girl under a bridge before killing her in June.
"Instead of coming to Texas to ask for our votes, Kamala should be asking for our forgiveness. Especially from the family of Jocelyn Nungaray and the countless others devastated by her administration’s open border policies. For four years, she has ignored Texans and the deadly crisis she has created at our southern border," Rep. Roger Williams said.
"Her negligence as Border Czar contributed to the tragic deaths of Americans, including Jocelyn Nungaray, who was killed by two illegal aliens from Venezuela. Young women like Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray and Rachel Morin would be alive today if Kamala Harris had taken her responsibilities seriously," Rep. Wesley Hunt added.
Harris’ event will kick off Friday evening in Houston, with reports surfacing that she will be joined by musician Beyoncé, who is originally from Houston.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the Texas Republicans' comments on her upcoming visit. The campaign also did not respond to a request for confirmation regarding whether Beyoncé will join the rally.
Harris joined a CNN town hall Wednesday evening outside Philadelphia, where moderator Anderson Cooper pressed the vice president about her border policies, including whether she supports a border wall after calling the wall "stupid" when it was championed by Trump during his administration.
"Let's talk about this compromise bill that you want to pass if you are elected. You said that's going to be a priority. It includes $650 million in funding for the border wall. That's something Republicans wanted, that was part of the compromise. Under Donald Trump, you criticized the wall more than 50 times. You called it ‘stupid, useless, and a medieval vanity project.’ Is a border wall stupid?," Cooper asked Harris.
"Let's talk about Donald Trump and that border wall," Harris said while laughing. "So, remember, Donald Trump said Mexico would pay for it. Come on, they didn't. How much of that wall did he build? I think the last number I saw was about 2%. And then when it came time for him to do a photo op, you know where he did it? In the part of the wall that President Obama built."
"But you agreed to a bill that would earmark $650 million to continue building that wall," Cooper pressed.
"I pledge that I am going to bring forward that bipartisan bill to further strengthen and secure our border. Yes, I am, and I'm going to work across the aisle to pass a comprehensive bill that deals with a broken immigration system," Harris responded.
"So you don't think it's stupid anymore?" Cooper continued.
"I think what he did and how he did it was … did not make much sense because he actually didn't do much of anything. I just talked about that wall, right? We just talked about it. He didn't actually do much of anything," she responded.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton railed against Harris in comments to Fox Digital ahead of her visit, saying she and Biden "intentionally dismantled every successful Trump border policy to let in as many aliens as possible" starting on their first day in office.
"Now, Kamala wants to come to Texas and talk about border security after four years of destroying American communities. If she wanted a secure border, why did I have to sue her administration dozens of times to force them to follow federal immigration laws? We’re fighting Kamala’s destructive open borders doctrine in the courts because she has unlawfully weaponized power to make our country more dangerous instead of keeping Americans safe," Paxton said.
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"Now, Texas is fighting Kamala’s obvious effort to allow noncitizens to vote illegally in American elections. We need to end the insanity, secure the border, restore the rule of law and put American citizens first again by re-electing President Trump."