On Tuesday, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee initiated an investigation into Vice President Harris’s role in border management, targeting an agency outside her direct jurisdiction. This move, led by Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), aims to spotlight an issue Republicans believe will be advantageous in the upcoming elections.
President Biden had assigned Harris the task of overseeing the administration’s strategy to address immigration by investing in development and democracy in Latin America to reduce immigration pressures on the U.S.
House Republicans probe Harris’s role in border crisis, seeking documentation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Comer’s request seeks documentation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) related to Harris’s office. Although CBP handles daily border operations, it does not typically engage with broader immigration strategies.
The agencies most involved in the root causes strategy include the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. trade representative, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The CBP’s website lacks references to this initiative, which other agencies extensively cover.
Comer’s letter to CBP questions what actions Harris has taken concerning the border crisis and demands all relevant communications with her office. While CBP manages migrant processing, it does not implement the root causes strategy but does oversee programs for temporary U.S. entry for certain nationals.
The request has raised questions about why CBP was targeted instead of agencies more closely associated with Harris’s role. Comer’s letter also refers to Harris as a “border czar,” a title previously used for Roberta Jacobson.
This investigation follows a report by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) examining how the “Biden-Harris administration” has managed migrants on terror watch lists.
Republicans have criticized Democrats for border issues, despite the latter’s opposition to a bipartisan immigration deal that faced backlash from former President Trump. In response to these pressures, Biden’s administration implemented a policy in June that reduced border crossings, achieving numbers comparable to pre-pandemic levels.
