Southwest
Harris heads to southern border looking to flip script on immigration criticisms
Vice President Harris stops in battleground Arizona on Friday to hold a campaign event along the U.S. southern border with Mexico as the Democrat presidential nominee works to turn the issue of immigration and border security from a negative into a positive.
Harris has faced frequent attacks from her Republican opponent, former President Trump, and his allies who argue she’s weak on border security, an issue that many Republicans see as the vice president’s political Achilles’ heel. Harris has faced intense criticism over the surge of migrants across the nation’s southern border during the first three years of President Biden’s administration.
The Trump campaign, on the eve of Harris’ first border visit as a presidential nominee, called it a “political ploy.”
But Harris, with a stop in Douglas, Arizona, aims to show that she’s better prepared than Trump to tackle the combustible issue of immigration and what Republicans have spotlighted as the crisis at the southern border.
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Vice President Harris, the Democrat presidential nominee, is shown at a rally in Glendale, Ariz., on Aug. 9, 2024. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The vice president is expected to speak about how she is pushing what she describes as the toughest bipartisan border security plan in a generation, a measure that includes new border agents and technologies to stop fentanyl trafficking.
And she’s expected to reiterate her argument that Trump “has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk.”
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She has repeatedly pointed to a border security bill with some bipartisan support that had been making its way through Congress this year before Republicans turned against the measure after prompting from Trump.
Harris has said that the former president “tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election” and has pledged that “as the president, I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed.”
Former President Trump speaks at the U.S.-Mexico border on Aug. 22, 2024, south of Sierra Vista, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Since replacing Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket more than two months ago, Harris has described herself as a former “border state prosecutor” who took on international gangs and criminal organizations behind illegal drug, gun and human trafficking across the border.
The description comes as Harris and her campaign have also spotlighted a tougher stance on border security while still pushing for a pathway to citizenship for some migrants.
“We need a comprehensive plan,” Harris said Wednesday in an interview with MSNBC. “That includes what we need to do to fortify not only our border but deal with the fact that we also need to create pathways for people to earn citizenship.”
Biden tasked Harris in 2021 with leading the diplomatic outreach to tackle the “root causes” of migration in Central American countries. It led to her being dubbed the “border czar” both by the media and some Republicans, although the White House has rejected that description. And the vice president has been pilloried over her role as “Biden’s border czar” by Trump and his allies.
Trump, as he runs to win back his old job in the White House, is calling for a major crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border and has suggested using police and the military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented migrants.
Speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump said Harris was traveling to the southern border for “political reasons.”
“When Kamala speaks about the border, her credibility is less than zero,” Trump said. “I hope you’re going to remember that on Friday. When she tells you about the border, ask her just one simple question: ‘Why didn’t you do it four years ago?’”
And Trump has said the policies of the Biden-Harris administration have allowed millions of people to enter the U.S. illegally.
In June, after the collapse of the bipartisan border security bill, Biden announced rules that bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials say the U.S.-Mexico border is overwhelmed. Following the implementation of the new rules through executive orders, arrests for illegal border crossings have plummeted.
Polls indicate that immigration and abortion are two of the top issues on the minds of American voters, following the economy and inflation.
And public opinion surveys, including those from Fox News, indicate that by double digits Americans believe Trump would do a better job than Harris handling the issue.
Trump last visited the border during a stop last month in Arizona, which is one of the seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine the winner of the presidential election.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Family members and authorities are searching for a missing Indigenous woman who has not been seen for weeks.
Gabrielle Lund, 25, was last seen on Sept. 5 at around noontime, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
She had traveled to L.A. from South Dakota to attend a rehabilitation program, authorities said.
Her last known location was the Union Rescue Mission located at 545 South San Pedro Street in downtown L.A.
A Feather Alert was issued by police on Thursday, Sept. 26 after her loved ones failed to contact her.
Lund is described as a woman standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black tank top and black leggings.
A Feather Alert is issued by law enforcement agencies “investigating the suspicious or unexplainable disappearance of an Indigenous woman or Indigenous person,” according to the California Highway Patrol.
Anyone who has seen the missing woman or knows of her whereabouts is urged to call LAPD Detective Franco at 213-996-1800 or dial 911. The public can also call LAPD at 1-877-527-3247.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
For another year, Pershing Square in the heart of downtown Los Angeles will turn into a winter wonderland where skaters and spectators can gather to experience the city’s largest outdoor ice rink.
The holiday ice rink at Pershing Square will officially open to the public with a tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 21, which will feature musical performances by the cast of “Wicked” the Broadway musical. The rink will remain in place through Jan. 12, 2025.
The seasonal ice rink has brought a little bit of the winter weather to sunny Los Angeles for the past 25 years, with more than 45,000 skaters and 221,000 spectators visiting the famed public park located between South Olive and Hill streets.
“The rink fosters community, while embracing winter fitness and fun,” organizers said.
The event this year is sponsored by “Wicked,” DTLA Alliance, KUSC, Metro and Metrolink. Proceeds from the weekslong event will benefit City of Los Angeles Department of Recreations and Parks.
The largest outdoor rink in the city at 7,200 square feet, the holiday ice rink promises to provide “professional-quality ice for skating and entertainment.”
General admission, which includes skate rentals, is $20. Skate “helpers” and storage lockers can be rented for additional fees. Advanced tickets are available to be purchased online beginning Friday.
Private parties are also available on select Mondays and Tuesdays, organizers said.
“Wicked”-themed skate nights will take place on Wednesdays, which will feature music from the show and giveaways; Thursday nights will feature music from local DJs; and Sundays will feature two sessions for skater to enjoy the “soothing sounds of classical music” provided by KUSC radio.
If you’re not interested in skating but still want to experience the novelty of winter sports in Southern California, the Hollywood Curling Club will host three one-hour curling lessons on Dec. 21, Dec. 28 and Jan. 4, 2025.
Willy Bietak, whose production company is organizing the holiday ice rink, said the event is an “absolute must” for Angelenos and residents who want to make the most out of a winter in Los Angeles.
For tickets and other information, click here.
One group of voters could fuel a win for Democrats in the Arizona Senate race while also propelling former President Trump to victory in the key battleground state.
Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris among registered voters in Arizona 49% to 45% in a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College. This was a notable shift from their numbers last month, when Harris came out on top.
At the same time, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., bested Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake 50% to 41%.
A spokesperson for Lake told Fox News Digital in a statement, “President Trump’s consistently strong lead in Arizona proves that Arizonans are tired of and dissatisfied with the policies of Kamala Harris and Ruben Gallego that have caused record-high inflation and made our state less safe by opening the border to millions of unchecked illegal immigrants. As voters learn the truth about Gallego’s voting record and the fact that he has voted for Biden-Harris policies 100% of the time, they will reject Radical Ruben just as they reject Kamala Harris.”
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Former President Trump and Rep. Ruben Gallego were both endorsed by the police group. (Reuters)
Her campaign further pointed to a CNN poll earlier this month which showed Gallego at 47% and Lake at 44%, a much closer margin.
According to the New York Times, “The respondents who said they were splitting their ticket – supporting Mr. Gallego and Mr. Trump – were much more likely to be Latino, less college-educated and lower-income.”
The poll was conducted in English and Spanish on cell phones and landlines in Arizona and 2,077 likely voters were surveyed between Sept. 17 and 21. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 percentage points for the likely electorate and +/-2.4 percentage points among registered voters.
Gallego voted 100% in line with President Biden and Harris’ administration in the 117th Congress, per FiveThirtyEight, and is by no means a fan of Trump, and the former president is an ardent supporter of Lake.
Despite their political disagreements, they’ve managed to simultaneously attract a key group of voters.
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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (Fox News )
“You always have to consider in American politics whether gender is playing a role,” Melissa Michelson, the dean of arts and sciences and a political science professor at Menlo College in California, told Fox News Digital.
Trump and Gallego are both facing off against women in their respective races.
“What gender scholars will tell you is that when women are running, they face additional challenges,” she explained.
With Trump’s election in 2016, his strength among those without college degrees became evident. He’s also shown an ability to appeal to non-White voters, including Latinos, who are considered integral to the Democrats’ coalition.
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Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake is endorsed by Trump. (Getty Images)
His enduring appeal to these types of voters is on display in the latest poll as well. “And yes, those same voters would be more likely to prefer the Latino candidate,” said Michelson, explaining the preference of some of those voters for Gallego in the Senate race.
She noted that Latinos tend to vote Democrat more often than not and that they also tend to vote for Latino candidates. “If a candidate before you is both your shared racial group and your shared party, then that’s easy,” Michelson remarked.
When it comes to women perhaps feeling inclined to vote for women candidates, she pointed out that gender isn’t “as strong of an identity or as strong of a motivator of vote choice.”
“People just don’t think about their gender the same way they think about their race.”
The potential for a split result in Arizona, with Trump winning the presidency and Gallego taking the open Senate seat, would be notable given the recent decline in split-ticket voting.
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Trump has made gains among Latinos. (Getty Images)
Republican strategist Kevin Madden said the vote is ultimately “candidate-dependent.”
“Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Ruben Gallego in Arizona are examples of two candidates running very carefully tailored races that are customized to their state’s political environment,” he told Fox News Digital.
It’s true that Gallego has made a concerted effort to reach a male, Latino audience. For Cinco de Mayo this year, his campaign held a watch party in Glendale at JL Boxing Academy for a match between champion Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez and fellow fighter Jaime Munguía, who was undefeated until that point. The venue was reportedly outfitted with large screens displaying the fight, and the event featured food trucks serving birria tacos and Mexican Cokes outside.
The watch party was expected to draw over 100 guests, mainly Latino Arizonans and their families.
Gallego held another boxing event last week at the same venue.
“They’re doing whatever they can to get out of the national political jet-stream and make their campaign less of a proxy on the presidential contest,” Madden said.
Michelson claimed that recent endorsements from the Arizona Police Association (APA) for both Gallego and Trump could encourage the increasingly rare practice of split-ticket voting. Despite backing Trump and reportedly endorsing Lake during her 2022 gubernatorial bid, the union chose Democrat Gallego in the Senate race in 2024.
However, Lake did get the backing of a separate police union, the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, earlier this month.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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