Battle for America’s borders as Trump and Harris face off on immigration

Immigration is one of the key issues in the US presidential elections taking place in November, with many voters concerned over the number of migrants who have entered the US during the Biden administration.

Republicans have repeatedly hammered President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the issue and painted a picture of an out-of-control immigration system where migrants are straining services as would-be terrorists and criminals take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the country.

Biden administration has cracked down on asylum access but also created new ways for migrants to come to America and for some of those already here to become citizens.

Here's a look at where Harris and Trump stand on immigration:

Harris focuses on border security

During her first trip to the border as the Democratic presidential nominee on Friday, Harris outlined a plan to crack down further on asylum claims and extend restrictions put in place earlier this summer by the Biden administration on asylum access.

In public comments and on her website, Harris has focused on ways she would enforce border security and crack down on drug smuggling.

The vice president has talked up her experience as California attorney general, saying she walked drug smuggler tunnels and successfully prosecuted gangs that moved narcotics and people across the border.

Early in his term, Biden made Harris his administration’s point person on the root causes of migration. Republicans have described it as a “border czar" position responsible for all border security, but her job was specific — figuring out long-term ways to stem migration from three countries in Central America. During a trip to Guatemala, she warned migrants thinking of coming to America: “Do not come.”

After hitting a record high in December 2023, the numbers of migrants crossing the border has plummeted since then. Harris and the administration have credited their tough anti-asylum measures for stemming the flow, although increased enforcement on the Mexican side has also played a key role.

The vice president has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, seeking pathways to citizenship for immigrants in the US without legal status, with a faster track for people living in the country illegally who arrived as children.

Migrants can use an app called CBP One to schedule an appointment while they're in Mexico to present themselves at an official border crossing for entry. Also, 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela can come to America for two years and get a work permit, assuming they have a financial sponsor, pass vetting and fly into an American airport.

Trump vows deportations

Immigration was the issue that propelled Trump into the White House the first time and what he hopes will give him another term.

During just about every campaign speech or appearance, he has portrayed immigration as out of control.

One of Trump's key promises if reelected is to deport illegal immigrants. He made similar promises when he first ran for office, but during his administration, deportations never topped 350,000.

For comparison, Barack Obama carried out 432,000 deportations in 2013, the highest annual total since records were kept.

Any mass deportation plans would certainly be challenged in court and be enormously expensive to carry out. And it would depend on countries being willing to take back their citizens.

Trump says he also would bring back policies he put in place during his first term, like the Remain in Mexico program and Title 42. Remain in Mexico made migrants wait in Mexico while their asylum cases were heard, while Title 42 curbed immigration on public health grounds.