CNN senior fact checker Daniel Dale said on Thursday that the media incorrectly labeled Vice President Kamala Harris the “border czar.”
Media outlets rushed to erase their own reporting to downplay Harris’ role in managing the border crisis by saying she is solely responsible for addressing “root causes” in Latin American countries. Dale continued with this recent trend by saying the media wrongfully portrayed Harris as the “border czar.” (RELATED: ‘Never Fall Into That Trap’: Jean-Pierre Dodges Question On Kamala Harris’ Handling Of Border Crisis)
“He [former President Donald Trump] said she was Joe Biden’s border czar. She wasn’t,” Dale said. “She was never put in charge of the border. She was given a much more limited assignment to lead a so-called root causes diplomatic effort trying to address the reasons in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras that people choose to migrate. And many Republicans’ scoff at this kind of fact check, saying there were a bunch of articles back in 2021 calling her the border czar. Frankly, those articles were wrong.”
CNN Fact Checker Says Other Media Incorrectly Labeled Kamala ‘Border Czar’ pic.twitter.com/9BjBvMFtks
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 25, 2024
Axios reporter Stef W. Kight’s article, “Harris border confusion haunts her new campaign,” received a community note on “X” which pointed out how the outlet used the border czar label for Harris in 2021. Axios reporter Shawna Chen published a piece in April 2021 titled, “Harris, appointed by Biden as ‘border czar,’ said she would be looking at the ‘root causes’ that drive migration.”
The Associated Press published a piece pushing back against the “border czar” title for Harris, though the outlet reported that Harris’ role was “to lead response to border challenges” in an article published on March 24, 2021. Politico reported characterized Harris as the White House’s “point person” on immigration issues pertaining to the U.S.-Mexico border in another piece March 24, 2021.
The New York Times reported in April 2021 that Harris would replace Roberta S. Jacobson, who the article described as the previous “border czar.”
Dale praised his own outlet for supposedly pushing back on the “border czar” framing for Harris along with the vice president’s office as early as 2021.
“And if you look at CNN’s own coverage, not to toot our own horn, but you’ll see that the White House and Harris’ office consistently pushed back on that framing,” Dale said.
Biden announced that he appointed Harris to address the border crisis stemming from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries on March 24, 2021.
“I’ve asked her, the VP, today — because she’s the most qualified person to do it — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border,” Biden announced.
CNN and The New York Times both referred to former Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan, who was picked by former President Donald Trump to oversee immigration issues, as the “border czar.” CNN published a headline titled “Trump’s border czar pick says he hasn’t agreed to job” on June 16, 2019.
The New York Times wrote the headline, “Trump Appoints a Loyalist as ‘Border Czar’ in Latest Immigration Reshuffle,” on June 14, 2019.
Harris’ only visit to the border occurred in June 2021 after receiving criticism from both sides of the aisle for traveling to Guatemala and Mexico before visiting the border itself. She traveled to El Paso, Texas, on June 25, 2021, over 90 days after Biden appointed her to address immigration issues, where she visited a Border Patrol facility and a processing center.
Harris assured the border was “secure” during a Sept. 11, 2022, interview on “Meet the Press” despite the record surge in illegal encounters. Encounters exceeded 2 million in the 2022 fiscal year, rising substantially from the roughly 1.7 million encounters in fiscal year 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection.
Six Democrats joined House Republicans in supporting a resolution condemning Harris for her “failure to secure the United States border” on Thursday.
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