Dem Dissension: Arizona Senate nominee says Biden, Harris haven't done good job on border security

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running for U.S. Senate against GOP candidate Kari Lake, said on Tuesday that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris haven't done a good job on border security over the last 4 years.

"In the past four years? No, I don't think that's the case, but I think that could be the same that you could say about the Trump administration, and also about the Obama administration," Gallego said during a discussion organized by Axios on the second day of the Democratic National Convention.

"We need to have a balanced focus on the border, and, you know, I thought there was a very good approach that the Biden-Harris campaign, the administration took with trying to pass the comprehensive border bill that was a bipartisan that would have brought more Border Patrol to the border, more border judges, immigration judges, would have brought more resources to our small towns," he added.

Former President Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential candidate, has pointed to record amount of migrant encounters since Biden took office as evidence the border has been mismanaged. The Trump campaign has also criticized the Biden-Harris administration for allowing the release of more than 3 million migrants from the border into U.S. communities. Those figures are mentioned in a House Judiciary Committee report on the border from January 2024.

The moderator pointed out some Democrats opposed the border deal that failed to pass out of Congress.

"Again, that's why it's a compromise," Gallego replied.

Gallego also said Harris' proposal for $25,000 of down payment assistance for first time homebuyers would help Latinos.

He said he supports expanding the child tax credit (CTC) to $6,000 for children under one, which Harris has proposed.