Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 47th Annual Leadership Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris warned Wednesday of her GOP rival’s plans to enact mass deportations.
Former President Donald Trump has made immigration a core campaign topic and has often demonized immigrants such as in Aurora, Colorado, and in Springfield, Ohio. Trump has pledged to conduct mass deportations of immigrants in the country without legal authorization.
“They have pledged 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 survey published Wednesday found that a majority of Americans support mass deportations, including 58% of independents.
The survey showed 54% of respondents overall supported mass deportations, with 86% of Republicans and 25% of Democrats saying they supported the idea.
Harris asked the crowd at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 2024 Leadership Conference to imagine how mass deportations would be carried out.
“How’s that gonna happen, massive raids? Massive detention camps?” she said. “What are they talking about?”
Trump has not offered details on his proposal, despite being asked about it at the Sept. 10 presidential debate.
Harris said that the U.S. should instead focus on reforming “our broken immigration” system.
“We can do both,” she said. “Create an earned pathway to citizenship and ensure our border is secure.”
Trump also urged House Republicans on Wednesday to cause a government shutdown if a provision to require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections is not included in a stopgap spending bill that would avert a government shutdown by Oct. 1.
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Teamsters decline to endorse
The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters decided Wednesday to not endorse either candidate for president, because it “found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee.”
“Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries—and to honor our members’ right to strike—but were unable to secure those pledges,” he continued.
Harris made a surprise visit this week to the Teamsters office in Washington, D.C.
After the non-endorsement, the Trump campaign released a statement arguing that the “rank-and-file of the Teamsters Union supports Donald Trump for President.”
The union released internal polls Wednesday that showed members favored Trump over Harris 58% to 31%. An earlier poll taken when President Joe Biden was still in the race showed members backed Biden 44.3% compared to Trump’s 36.3%.
The union endorsed Biden in 2020 and has traditionally backed Democrats.
On the trail
The candidates continue to hold events across the country.
Trump is scheduled to hold an evening rally in Uniondale, New York, his second live campaign event since his second apparent assassination attempt at his golf course in Florida over the weekend. He held a town hall in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, announced late Tuesday that the bipartisan group a bipartisan task force created to investigate the July assassination attempt against Trump would expand to include the apparent assassination attempt at the GOP presidential nominee’s Florida golf club.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, delivered remarks in Raleigh, North Carolina, late Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday’s campaign schedule shows a packed day of public events for all the major campaign figures.
Harris is expected to make a campaign stop in Detroit. She’s then scheduled to return to Wisconsin.
Trump is scheduled to attend a “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America Event” in Washington, D.C at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Harris is expected to join an 8 p.m. Eastern “Unite for America” livestream hosted by Oprah Winfrey in collaboration with the group Win With Black Women, along with more than 140 grassroots groups.
Inauguration platform
Congressional leaders participated in a longtime tradition Wednesday, hammering the first nail of the stage that will be used to swear in the 47th president Jan. 20.
Members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies partook in the First Nail Ceremony, where they picked up a hammer and smacked preset nails into wooden planks.
Senators on the committee included Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota and Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska.
“At the very least it’ll be therapeutic,” Klobuchar joked about the hammering.
The House lawmakers included Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Republicans from Louisiana, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York.
Scalise was the first lawmaker to finish hammering his nail, followed by Johnson. Klobuchar was the last, and ended her final swing of her hammer with a laugh.
It takes about six months to build the platform for the ceremony, Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin said.
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