Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – This week, House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) introduced H.Res.1457, a resolution “strongly condemning Vice President Kamala Harris for championing anti law enforcement polices and, as a result, encouraging lawlessness across the country.”

“Kamala Harris is working tirelessly to reinvent herself as a mainstream moderate, but her record reveals she’s proudly aligned with the radical Left with a clear history of empowering criminals and vilifying our law enforcement,” said Chairman Arrington. “This is the same person who opened our southern border for criminals to flood our communities, praised defunding the police in Los Angeles, advocated for decriminalizing illegal immigration, compared ICE agents to the Ku Klux Klan, promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund to bail out violent rioters, and authored legislation that would end cash bail and eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing. I introduced this legislation to remind the American people that behind the Democrats’ political makeover, Kamala Harris’ record of lawlessness is as radical as it gets.”

"Kamala Harris’ approach to public safety and her views on law enforcement are exactly the opposite of what our Nation needs right now. America is experiencing sustained levels of crime far higher than they were merely four years ago and now, more than ever, we need to unequivocally support our law enforcement community and encourage a return to proactive policing and a firm commitment to the rule of law,” said Scott G. Erickson, Director, Center for Law and Justice, America First Policy Institute.

“No matter how many times Kamala Harris tries to rewrite history and paint herself as a ‘tough-on-crime’ prosecutor, she can’t change her support for defunding the police and bailing violent criminals out of jail. For decades, Harris has backed progressive prosecutors across the country and the dangerous ideology that excuses crime and puts victims last. Heritage Action applauds Rep. Arrington for working to set the record straight—Americans aren’t safe in Kamala Harris’ America,” said Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President, Heritage Action.

 Background:

Arrington’s resolution cites the following examples of Harris’ actions:

• Then-Senator from California Kamala Harris said, “to believe that by putting more police on the street, you’re going to have more safety – that’s just wrong.”
• Then-Senator from California Kamala Harris said, “I know what a crime looks like. I will tell you: an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.”
• Then-Senator from California Kamala Harris, when running for President in the 2020 election, publicly supported repealing section 275 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325), to decriminalize illegal immigration.
• Then-Senator from California Kamala Harris compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to members of the Ku Klux Klan.
• Vice President Kamala Harris, acting as “Border Czar,” implemented open-border policies that have resulted in an exponential increase in crime, fentanyl poisoning, and criminal aliens perpetrating violent acts against innocent Americans.
• Vice President Kamala Harris, acting as President of the Senate, delivered the tiebreaking vote to appoint Rachael Rollins to serve as the United States Attorney for Massachusetts, who, while District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, published a list of 15 crimes “for which the default is to decline prosecuting”, including shoplifting, breaking and entering, malicious destruction of property, resisting arrest, and drug possession with intent to distribute. 
• Then-Senator from Kamala Harris publicly promoted the “Minnesota Freedom Fund”, to pay bail and expedite the release of individuals arrested for alleged crimes including rioting, sexual assault, domestic violence, assault of a police officer, and murder.
  • On one occasion, an individual who was released from jail after bail was paid by the Minnesota Freedom Fund murdered another individual just 3 weeks later.
• Then-Senator from California Kamala Harris proposed a pro-criminal  justice reform plan to end cash bail and eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing.
• In June 2020, then-Senator from California Kamala Harris publicly praised Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti for his proposed budget cut of $150,000,000 to the Los Angeles Police Department.

###