WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris warned Wednesday about her Republican rival’s plans to carry out mass deportations.
Former President Donald Trump made immigration a central campaign issue and often demonized immigrants, as in Aurora, Coloradoand in Springfield, OhioTrump has announced plans to carry out mass deportations of immigrants in the country without legal authorization.
“They promised to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation, in American history,” Harris said during a speech at an event hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the nonprofit arm of the congressional caucus.
A Scripps News/Ipsos poll A study released Wednesday found that a majority of Americans support mass deportations, including 58 percent of independents.
The poll found that 54 percent of respondents overall supported mass deportations, with 86 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of Democrats saying they supported the idea.
Harris asked those attending the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 2024 Leadership Conference to imagine how mass deportations would be carried out.
“How is that going to happen? With massive raids? With massive internment camps?” she asked. “What are they talking about?”
Trump has not given any details of his proposal, although be asked about it on Presidential debate on September 10th.
Harris said the US should instead focus on reforming our “broken immigration system.”
“We can do both,” she said. “Create an earned path to citizenship and ensure our border is secure.”
Trump too demanded the Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday to initiate a government shutdown if a provision requiring proof of citizenship to participate in federal elections is not included in an interim budget bill that would prevent a government shutdown until October 1.
Teamsters refuse support
The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters decided on Wednesday do not support any of the candidates for the presidential election because “there was no clear support among the members for the candidate of either party.”
“Unfortunately, neither major candidate has been able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure that the interests of working people are always put ahead of those of big business,” Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“We have demanded commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in key union campaigns or core Teamsters industries – and to respect our members’ right to strike – but we have not been able to achieve those commitments,” he continued.
Harris made a surprise visit to the Teamsters’ office in Washington, DC this week
After the rejection of the endorsement, the Trump campaign released a statement saying that “the base of the Teamsters union supports Donald Trump as a candidate for president.”
The union internal surveys published On Wednesday, members favored Trump over Harris by 58% to 31%. An earlier poll, conducted when President Joe Biden was still in the race, showed members supporting Biden by 44.3% to Trump’s 36.3%.
The union supported Biden in 2020 and traditionally supports Democrats.
On the trail
The candidates continue to hold events across the country.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Uniondale, New York, this evening, his second live campaign event since his second apparent assassination attempt on his Florida golf course over the weekend. He held a town hall in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana announced tardy Tuesday that the bipartisan group, a bipartisan task force set up to investigate the assassination attempt on Trump in July, would be expanded to include the obvious attempted murder at the Republican presidential candidate’s golf club in Florida.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, delivered a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, tardy Wednesday afternoon.
The campaign schedule for Thursday calls for a packed day of public events for all major campaign figures.
- Harris is expected to make a campaign stop in Detroit before returning to Wisconsin.
- Trump is scheduled to attend an event to combat anti-Semitism in America in Washington, DC, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
- Harris is scheduled to participate in a “Unite for America” livestream at 8 p.m. Eastern time, hosted by Oprah Winfrey in partnership with the group Win With Black Women and more than 140 grassroots groups.
Inauguration platform
On Wednesday, congressional leaders participated in a long-standing tradition, driving the first nail into the stage where the 47th president will be sworn in on Jan. 20.
Members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies participated in the driving of the first nail ceremony, during which they picked up a hammer and drove pre-made nails into wooden boards.
Senators on the committee included Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, and Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska.
“At least it will be therapeutic,” Klobuchar joked about the beating.
House members included Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York.
Scalise was the first congressman to finish driving his nail, followed by Johnson. Klobuchar was last, finishing her final hammer blow with a laugh.
Construction of the platform for the ceremony will take about six months, said Capitol Architect Thomas Austin.
