Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday called out the U.S. immigration system as “broken,” attributing the lack of progress on the issue to “an inability to put solutions in front of politics” that has resulted in the suffering of undocumented immigrants living in the country for years.
In a town hall hosted by Univision, the Democratic presidential nominee took questions from the audience, which consisted of Hispanic voters who are undecided on whom to vote for in next month’s election.
“You and I have something in common,” Ivett Castillo, a 40-year-old U.S. citizen born to Mexican parents in Los Angeles, told Harris. “We both lost our mother.”
Castillo said her mother died six weeks ago, noting that she was unable to access the health care she needed due to her lack of legal status in the country, and asked Harris how she plans to address the issues facing undocumented immigrants living “in the shadows.”
Harris expressed sorrow for Castillo’s loss and called out the country’s “broken immigration system” as part of the reason why Castillo’s mother’s was unable to become an American citizen despite living in the U.S. for years.
The vice president referred to the Biden administration’s efforts to put forward an immigration bill early in their term, which would have created a “comprehensive earned pathway to citizenship for hardworking people.” The bill wasn’t passed by Congress.
“The reality is, that in terms of having access to health care, had your mother been able to gain citizenship, she would have been entitled to health care that may have alleviated her suffering and yours,” Harris said. “And this is one example of the fact that there are real people who are suffering because of an inability to put solutions in front of politics.”
Harris then turned to GOP nominee Donald Trump’s move to pressure Republican lawmakers to kill a bipartisan bill meant to address the crisis at the U.S. Southern border earlier this year, because he didn’t want President Joe Biden to score a win ahead of the presidential race.
“Donald Trump found out about that bill, realized it would be a solution and told them not put it on the floor for a vote because he would prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” she said.
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“Real leadership is about solving problems on behalf of the people,” she continued.
Harris takes a tearful question from a woman whose mother recently died in part because she was an undocumented immigrant and as a result couldn't get the healthcare she needed. She responds with empathy and by explaining her immigration plan in detail. pic.twitter.com/69hDy39Sqi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 11, 2024
Thursday’s town hall offered Harris an opportunity to speak directly to Latinos, a critical voting bloc in the upcoming election.
A national NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC poll released late last month showed Harris’ advantage with Latino voters has been shrinking and come down to the lowest level for the Democrats in the past four presidential cycles, NBC noted.
