Candidate Kamala Harris Has Always Been Pro-Immigrant And Pro-justice

Candidate Kamala Harris Has Always Been Pro-Immigrant And Pro-justice

Kamala Harris is the new candidate for president, let's talk about her career and history regarding immigration issues

Originally Published in Spanish in El Vocero Hispano on
July 26, 2024

Forward with Kamala!

As we all know, last July 21st President Joe Biden announced that he is withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the new candidate for president, and we should talk about Kamala's career and history regarding immigration issues.

Kamala is the daughter of immigrants, her father from Jamaica and her mother from India came to the United States to continue their studies and become professionals. Kamala pursued a career as a lawyer and became a prosecutor for the San Francisco area and then Attorney General for the entire state of California, then a senator for California and finally vice president for her last 4 years.

During her whole political life she has been an ally of immigrants always advocating for pro immigrant policies and disapproving Trump's racist policy against immigrants. She also supported the Dreamers by mediating with President Obama to approve the program, she was the first member of congress to call for an investigation into the Trumpist policy of 2018 where thousands of children were separated from their parents.

As vice president she has promoted the investigation of the causes of immigration especially of Central Americans, due to corruption and economic problems and has always advocated for Dreamers, farm workers and other essential workers such as those who care for children and the elderly in the United States.

Kamala was born in Oakland California her mother a doctor and teacher and her father also an economics professor, activists in the Martin Luther King movement and pro civil rights during the 60's in the United States, they instilled in her pro-justice and pro civil rights values regardless of race or immigration status. As a prosecutor in California for 5 years she defended the immigrant community and sanctuary cities seeking to protect immigrants from abuses by immigration authorities.

In the Senate, she always voted in favor of immigrants and against programs, especially from Trump Republicans, that sought to make life more difficult for immigrants. She was also always one of the senators who supported the proposal for a legalization for immigrants including farm workers, people who have stayed in the country for more than 10 years and giving residency and citizenship to TPS and DACA.

When Trump appointed John Kelly as Homeland Security director, in the Senate she was the one most critical of Trump's mass deportation plans, and she spoke out in favor of protecting Muslims and other discriminated groups through Trump's actions.

I'm sure Trump supporters will attack Kamala by saying that both she and Biden are to blame for the supposed invasion of immigrants into the United States, which we know is not true. There have always been immigrants entering the United States and what needs to be worked on is the reasons why people are migrating both political and economic reasons. She has always said that immigrants entering the United States have the right to seek political asylum.

She has also raised her voice against Trump's lies that immigrants are criminals and that they come to the country only to create problems when statistics have shown that immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, who have committed a crime represent a lower percentage compared to U.S. citizens and that an isolated case does not represent the reality.

For these and many other reasons we must support Kamala and defeat Trump with his Project 2025  and his mass deportations. Unfortunately President Biden, as will happen to all of us, has aged, but we now have an intelligent, pro-justice, pro-immigrant candidate and we must do everything we can to defeat Trump's politics of hate and racism. 

In the next few days we will talk about how we can work towards the election and elect a pro-immigrant, pro-justice president.