'Allowed Terrorists, Criminals into Country': Donald Trump Hits Back at Kamala Harris on Immigration

Pennsylvania: In the ABC News presidential debate between US Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump , the discussion intensified around one of the major issues of the election: immigration.

Former President Trump has made immigration a central focus of his campaign. During the debate, he asserted that other countries are sending millions of people from mental institutions and jails to illegally migrate to the U.S.

Throughout the debate, Trump repeatedly raised concerns about immigration, even when the topic at hand was the economy. He accused Harris of being a 'Marxist,' citing her father's academic background as a Marxist economics professor without providing further context.

Trump claimed, “They have allowed millions of criminals, terrorists, and drug dealers to come into the U.S. They think they are going to get votes. They have destroyed the fabric of this country. Crime here is up and through the roof.”

He also accused Vice President Kamala Harris of destroying the country and warned that the U.S. would turn into "Venezuela on steroids" if she became president.

Trump referenced a social media post claiming that pets were being stolen from their homes by Haitian immigrants who were allegedly consuming them. He said, “In Springfield, they are eating dogs and cats. They are eating the pets of the people who live there. We will end up being Venezuela on steroids.”

Trump further outlined his plans to complete the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the "Remain in Mexico" policy and asylum restrictions, and carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. He also promised to sign an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Regarding undocumented migrants, Trump estimated their number to be as high as 11 million. He claimed there were “many, many millions of criminals” and that “migrant crime is happening at levels that nobody thought possible.”

He described Harris as the “border czar” because she was tasked by President Biden in March 2021 with addressing the “root causes” of migration from the Northern Triangle—Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador—and pushing leaders in these countries and Mexico to enforce immigration laws.

Harris defended her administration’s efforts and her role in addressing the root causes of migration from Central America. She criticized Trump and his Republican allies for obstructing a bipartisan immigration bill that would have introduced strict measures and asylum rules while also increasing resources to improve legal immigration pathways.

Harris accused Trump of preferring to campaign on problems rather than solving them. “He’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” Harris stated.

She promised that if elected, she would continue to push for comprehensive immigration reform that includes an earned pathway to citizenship and pledged to sign such legislation if it came to her desk.

(Inputs from agencies)