Harris: House Republicans don’t want immigration fix because ‘they want a political issue to run on in November’ 

Vice President Harris is accusing House Republicans of resisting ongoing bipartisan negotiations over the border because “they want a political issue to run on” this year.  

“Sadly, it has become so deeply partisan and the subject of then political gamesmanship, when in fact, the solutions are at hand,” Harris said when asked about the administration’s handling of immigration on Katie Couric’s iHeart podcast, “Next Question with Katie Couric.” 

The vice president argued her administration has offered solutions and “invited bipartisan work,” pointing to the Biden administration’s request for $14 billion in supplemental funds to help deal with migration at the southern border. 

“We hope and are really trying to compel in particular some of the Republicans in Congress to participate in the solution. But sadly, you know, we want to fix it, they want to run on it. They want a political issue to run on in November,” Harris said.  

Senate negotiators have been working on a border security deal, but the effort has hit snags, including on the issue of parole authority. And House conservatives have balked at the idea of embracing anything that emerges from the talks.

The Biden administration is pushing lawmakers to pass billions for the border, Israel and Ukraine as it fights its ongoing war with Russia.  

As the 2024 presidential election cycle heats up — with Biden running for reelection — and as Republicans spar with the administration over the border, immigration is top of mind for voters across the country.

A new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released this week found immigration has overtaken inflation as the top concern cited by most American voters.

But the parties of course see the issue very differently. While 81 percent of Republicans said conditions at the border are worsening, just 45 percent of Democrats said the same.

“The situation is such that the system is broken and it needs to be fixed, and we have offered a solution and real leaders ought to lead on this, meaning not play politics with it, but work with us to fix the problem,” Harris said on Couric’s podcast.