Presented with the increase in the number of border crossings, Harris chose a long-term approach to the problem

A review of Harris’s work on immigration reveals a more nuanced record than presented by her critics or allies. It also offers insight into how Harris — who took over as Democratic chairman when Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month — might address one of the nation’s most vexing concerns.

Harris was never the “border czar” nor in charge of border security or stopping illegal border crossings, as former President Donald Trump, Republicans and even the occasional establishment media have claimed. Instead, she was tasked in March 2021 with addressing the “root causes” of migration from the Northern Triangle and pushing its leaders — along with those in Mexico — to enforce immigration laws, administration officials said.

Harris’ supporters say she has shown leadership by leveraging her stature to win investments that could reduce migration for years to come.

“She felt — and I think she was right — that the most she could do was help basically lead the effort to attract investment, using the confidence that a relationship with the White House would give investors,” he said Ricardo Zúniga, a former State Department official who specialized in the Northern Triangle and who traveled with Harris to the region.

Critics argue that she could have done much more, but instead chose a less risky path, ensuring that the problem got worse.

“She said ‘no, it’s just the root causes,'” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for less immigration. “Even if it worked, it’s the kind of thing that takes generations, not a term.”

He also said there was no evidence that Harris pushed Mexico and Northern Triangle nations to enforce immigration laws.

Harris defended her work, and her campaign began airing a television ad Friday saying Harris, as president, “will hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.” this year, she would have increased funding for border security, including hiring new Customs and Border Protection personnel.

Trump “talked a big game on securing the border, but he doesn’t walk the walk,” the vice president said last month in Atlanta. She later added: “Donald Trump doesn’t care about border security. He only cares about himself.”

Immigration is becoming a big political issue

Immigration has long been an issue that motivates Trump and his base of supporters, and polls show it is among the top issues on voters’ minds. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump said he would build a wall along the US-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it. Trump failed to complete the project, and Mexico did not finance the part of the barrier that was built. The former president also used explosive language to describe immigrants, launching his campaign by suggesting that Mexico was sending its “rapists” and criminals to the United States.

While in office, Trump has sought to severely restrict asylum, which has been challenged in the courts. This time, Trump promised to oversee a “mass deportation” of migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.

Migration numbers have risen and fallen during both presidencies. Border Patrol arrests on the southern border fell in Trump’s first year in office, then rose in the next two, reaching more than 850,000 in 2019. The numbers fell in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic before rising again more during the Biden presidency, peaking at more than 250,000 meetings in December 2023 before falling below 84,000 in June 2024, federal statistics show.

When Biden took office, he reversed dozens of Trump’s moves on immigration, even as apprehensions began to rise.

Harris was put in a ‘difficult spot’

Harris was given the migration assignment when border crossings were on the rise, drawing considerable attention and leading to bipartisan calls for action.

Chris Newman, an immigration rights attorney in Los Angeles, said Harris was put in a difficult spot.

“She was tasked with developing a long-term political framework rather than creating a short-term political performance project,” said Newman, legal director of the National Day Labor Organizing Network.

Biden and Harris had taken office just two months before, and Harris was under pressure to build his policy portfolio. When he was vice president, Biden took a similar role on immigration. In 2021, however, Harris faced a particularly difficult situation given the lack of governing partners in the region. El Salvador’s new president, Nayib Bukele, has had a rocky relationship with the administration over human rights concerns raised by his crackdown on crime in his nation. The man who was then president of Honduras has since been convicted of drug trafficking.

The headaches for Harris began almost immediately, validating the concerns of some on her team that it was a no-win mission.

Harris traveled to Mexico and Guatemala in June 2021, where he defended not being at the US-Mexico border during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, saying he had not “been in Europe. And I mean, I don’t… I get the point you’re making.”

She also drew criticism on that trip for warning migrants, “Don’t come” to the US

Harris decided to focus on bringing private investment to the region, tapping a network of business and nonprofit executives and using the prestige of the White House to signal that the Biden administration supports the effort.

The work connected multinational companies – such as Visa, Nestle and Meta – with smaller nonprofits and businesses in Latin America, all of which have committed to increasing their investment or strengthening their work with at-risk communities.

Focused on private investments

The Associated Press contacted all of the nearly two dozen companies the White House listed as participating in the outreach effort. Some, like Agroamerica, a sustainable food corporation that has pledged to invest more than $100 million in six new projects, have reported that their work has begun and that they are on track to meet their investment goals. Others, including Columbia Sportswear Company, said they would likely exceed their commitments.

However, most companies either declined to comment or did not respond when asked about their efforts.

The vice president’s office said Harris’ efforts have generated more than $5.2 billion in investment pledges. To illustrate how long it takes for promises to translate into concrete spending, the State Department reported that companies have committed nearly $1.3 billion to the region as of June 2024, most of it in Guatemala and Honduras.

“We’re on track to exceed our commitments,” said Peter Bragdon, an executive at Columbia Sportswear Company, of their pledge to buy up to $200 million worth of products from the region. That commitment would create nearly 7,000 jobs over five years, the company said. The executive called Harris’ efforts a “work in progress” but “a smart approach.”

Katie Tobin, who served as the top immigration adviser at the National Security Council for three years, credited Harris’ focus on spurring investment in reducing those numbers, arguing that Harris “was able to use his credibility” and power White House to convince companies to invest in a “risky investment environment”.

“It was very Kamala Harris,” she added. “I’ve never seen anything like this done in this space before, and it had a real impact.”

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a vocal critic of Harris, said the vice president and the White House are taking credit for investments that would have been made anyway.

Companies “don’t do it because someone asked them to,” said Scott, who co-founded a major medical company. “I do it because it makes economic sense.”

He tackled corruption

Harris also sought to address the endemic corruption that fueled migration from Central America. Before her 2021 trip to Guatemala, Harris met with a group of exiled Guatemalan prosecutors and judges in Washington.

Among them was Thelma Aldana, a former chief prosecutor who fled her country after what she said were politically motivated corruption charges.

“I came away from it convinced that he has a real interest in seeing things change in Central America,” Aldana said.

The vice president also deserves credit for helping prevent former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei from overturning the 2023 election of his successor, Bernardo Arévalo, according to Luis Von Ahn, a US-based Guatemalan tech entrepreneur.

“Giammattei didn’t want to leave power, the Kamala Harris administration came in and said ‘stop (messing up),” said Von Ahn, founder of language app Duolingo. “It is a great help for Guatemala. If a deeply corrupt president doesn’t want to go, that’s terrible and (his exit) leaves us a better country.”

The verdict was in on Harris’ approach

While the Harris campaign and the White House have pointed to statistics showing that migration from Northern Triangle countries has declined substantially since the start of 2021, there is debate as to what is responsible for this decline.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said Harris and the administration deserve credit for the reduction because their efforts “worked.”

Independent analysts, however, said they were skeptical that Harris’ approach was responsible for the decline. They said the drop was likely driven by regional factors, including the rise of El Salvador’s new president and his aggressive drive to combat violent crime. His government has reported a 70% drop in homicides by 2023.

Julia Gelatt, associate director of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute, said the investments could take years to change migration patterns — if ever.

“Even a lot of economic development doesn’t limit immigration the way countries hope,” Gelatt said.

Riccardi reported from Denver. Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City contributed to this story.