Pollster Frank Luntz said Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the southern border, planned for Friday, will only draw attention to her lack of focus on the topic. Harris is expected to make a stop on the U.S.-Mexico border during a campaign trip to Arizona, one of several battleground states at play in November's election.
Luntz criticized the timing of the visit, telling CNN that Harris' "time to have gone to the border was last year or the year before that."
He said, "Now, it only highlights the fact that she hasn't really focused on this issue, even though she had some, we can't determine what, the actual responsibility was that she had in the administration because it's been muddied.
"But, he said, "this is an area that [former President] Donald Trump can say, 'just look at the numbers, look at the immigration statistics, look at the illegal immigration' that took place under his administration and under the Biden-Harris administration."
Customs and Border Protection data shows Border Patrol agents have encountered 7 million migrants since the start of fiscal year 2021. Some communities, like Springfield, Ohio, have faced major challenges, including rampant crime and higher housing prices, after 20,000 Haitian migrants were sent to the town. Many local residents are blaming the Harris-Biden administration's border policies for the situation.
There have also been a spate of high-profile national crimes involving illegal immigrants, including the murders of Rachel Morin, Laken Riley, and Jocelyn Nungaray.