Former President Donald Trump's campaign is leveraging remarks made by former Bill Clinton during a recent event in Georgia to target Vice President Kamala Harris on the contentious immigration issue, reported The Hill.
Trump's campaign launched an attack on Harris following Clinton's remarks at a political event in Georgia. Speaking at a fish fry event while campaigning for Harris, Clinton defended a failed bipartisan Senate bill to enhance border security. He emphasized that the bill, had it passed, would have improved the government's ability to vet migrants entering the U.S.
During his speech, Clinton highlighted Harris' support for the bill, stating, "[Harris is] the only candidate who has actually endorsed a bill that would hold down immigration in any given year to any certain point and then give people a decent place to live, make sure we didn't divide people from their children, and we did total vetting before people came in."
Clinton also criticized Trump for purportedly "killing the bill" despite its Republican backing in the Senate.
The bill aimed to balance legal protections for millions of undocumented migrants with efforts to curb illegal immigration. While it achieved the former, it failed to significantly address the latter, prompting many conservatives to label it an "amnesty" bill, according to the Brookings Institution.
Republicans argued the president already has the authority to secure the border and viewed the Senate bill as limiting executive power. They instead supported the House's HR 2 bill, which includes stricter immigration measures, such as ending Biden's parole program, reducing asylum claims, reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy, and resuming Trump's border wall construction.
Compared to HR 2, the Senate bill's compromises seem insufficient.
Clinton's speech took a controversial turn when he referenced the death of Laken Riley, a young woman killed by an illegal immigrant while explaining the potential benefits of proper vetting.
"You got a case in Georgia not very long ago... if they'd all been properly vetted, that probably wouldn't have happened," Clinton remarked.
The Trump campaign swiftly seized on Clinton's comments, issuing an email with the headline "Bill Clinton Blames Kamala Harris For Laken Riley's Death." The email contained a video clip of Clinton's remarks, starting from the moment he mentioned Riley's killing.
Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra has been charged with Riley's murder, and his trial is scheduled for November. The case has been a focal point for Republicans, who often highlight it as an example of the dangers of inadequate immigration policies.
Clinton accused the former president of fostering division and fear over immigration while arguing that "America is not having enough babies to keep our population up, so we need immigrants who have been vetted to do work."
"The cynicism of killing a bill that would do exactly A, what we ought to do, and B, what they say they want to do, just so you can keep people all torn up and upset... is unbelievable," Clinton said. "This country is too good for that; we gotta put all that behind us and open a new door. A new door to the future," he added.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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