Don't Say Czar: Kamala Was Biden's 'Point Person on Immigration'—Until She Became the Presumptive Nominee

Three years ago, in March 2021, there was a consensus among Democratic officials and pundits: Vice President Kamala Harris was in charge of the border.

"President Biden put his vice president, Kamala Harris, in charge of one of his administration's growing challenges—she is now the point person on immigration," CNN's Jake Tapper said at the time. "Kamala Harris, the point person on immigration," Tapper's colleague Erin Burnett echoed.

MSNBC's Joy Reid, meanwhile, said Harris "will lead the response to the border challenge." Former Obama administration official Julian Castro praised the decision, expressing "confidence that she's going to do a good job in this role. I think President Biden made a good decision, a wise move."

Things didn't go well from there. Illegal border crossings spiked to a record high and immigration jumped to the number one issue for voters. Harris was also panned in June 2021 for falsely claiming she visited the border as vice president. Pressed on the lie by NBC's Lester Holt, Harris cackled, saying, "And I haven't been to Europe. And I mean, I don't—I don't understand the point that you're making."

Following Biden's departure from the campaign—and Harris's coronation as the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee—Republicans tied Harris to the border crisis, painting her as Biden's "border czar," a term the media used frequently in 2021.

Not anymore. Instead, the same pundits who hyped Harris's border czar role contend that the vice president was never actually in charge of the border.

"She was not actually the border czar," Tapper said earlier this month.

"She was put in charge of reaching out to the South and Central American countries to stem the immigration."

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