Washington City.- Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday criticized Republican Donald Trump’s pledge to deport millions of people in the United States illegally, questioning whether he would conduct mass raids and detention camps to carry it out.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual leadership conference that the country can find a path to citizenship for those who want to come while also securing the border.
“We can do both and we should do both,” she said. Harris recalled the Trump administration’s immigration policies as she sought Hispanic support.
“As we fight to lead our nation toward a brighter future, Donald Trump and his extremist allies will continue to try to push us back,” Harris said.
“We all remember what they did to separate families, and now they are promising the largest deportation, mass deportation, in American history. “Imagine what that would look like? How would it be implemented? Mass raids? Mass detention camps? What are they talking about?” Former President Trump has vowed to carry out “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country” if he is elected in November. He has not provided details on how the operation would work. Trump, who has made immigration a major issue of his campaign, is leading Harris in polls on who voters trust to handle the issue best. Trump is expected to arrive in Uniondale later in the day, where he will tour the area. It could be key for Republicans to retain control of the House of Representatives. His party is seeking to secure 18 Republicans in Democratic-dominated congressional districts that Joe Biden won in 2020, particularly in coastal New York and California, and is now going on the offensive to challenge Democrats elsewhere. Long Island, in particular, is hosting one of the most closely watched races, between first-term Republican Anthony D’Esposito and Democrat Laura Gillen. D’Esposito is a former NYPD detective who won the 2022 primary in a district that Biden won by about 15 percentage points in 2020. On Tuesday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Republicans have a “real chance to win” in New York for the first time in decades. In the same post, Trump also vowed to “bring back SALT,” saying he would eliminate the cap on state and local tax deductions that was part of the tax cuts law he signed in 2017. The so-called SALT cap has led to higher tax bills for many residents of New York, New Jersey, California and other high-tax and high-cost states, and is a major campaign issue in those states, particularly among New York Republicans who serve districts that Biden won. Harris’ speech at the Congressional Hispanic Institute Caucus marked the second straight day in which she has spoken in a constituency considered crucial to the Democratic Party. On Tuesday, he gave an interview in Philadelphia to members of the National Association of Black Journalists. He criticized Trump’s rhetoric and said voters should make sure he “can’t use that microphone anymore.” He planned a trip to Michigan and Wisconsin later this week. Trump is trying to get back on the campaign trail after an assassination attempt Sunday while he was golfing in Florida. He traveled to Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday and did not appear to change his plans for an upcoming trip to the nation’s capital and North Carolina later this week. His running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, has an event scheduled in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday. Trump, for his part, is headed to Uniondale on Long Island, New York, as both candidates take a break Wednesday from campaigning in swing states that could decide the Nov. 5 election.
