Trump vs. Harris on immigration: Future policy proposals

Immigration continues to play a large role in the 2024 US presidential race, with former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris now running against each other, following President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s withdrawal from the race on July 21, 2024.

Trump has focused on immigration in his campaign, dedicating time at nearly every campaign stop to border issues and his plans to fix them should he win reelection. Immigration dominated every night of the 2024 Republican National Convention and was a major point of contention at the first presidential debate on June 27, 2024. Now, Trump is blaming Harris for the border crisis, labeling her Biden's "border czar" and attacking her immigration record in political ads.

Under Biden, Harris did not oversee the formulation or implementation of policy at the border—that responsibility lay with the commissioner for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the National Security Council senior director for transborder security.

Instead, Harris was tasked with a two-pronged diplomatic assignment to reduce the incentives migrants have to leave Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, first by enhancing lawful pathways for migration to the United States and second by strengthening ties with and improving infrastructure, supporting business, and bolstering civil society in those countries.