After President Biden announced that he would not run for re-electionhe approved Vice President Kamala Harris as his choice to become the Democratic nominee. Here’s a look at some of Harris’ foreign policy work over the past three and a half years:
The American Border and Immigration from South and Central America
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Harris was tasked early in the Biden administration with tackling the “root causes“of irregular migration to the United States across its border with Mexico. She described these causes as corruption and lack of economic opportunities in some Central and South American countries.
She has visited Latin America twice as vice president: to Mexico and Guatemala in 2021, and to Honduras in 2022.
In a speech in Guatemala, she told locals considering crossing the border without permission: “Don’t come. Don’t come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders.”
In Mexico, she announced that the United States would invest millions of dollars to strengthen worker protections and advance labor market reforms. She also announced commitments to encourage investment in Mexico, including through loans for affordable housing.
Harris also announced a joint partnership with Mexico to promote economic opportunity in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador through agriculture and youth empowerment. In March, the White House announced it had secured private sector commitments to invest $5 billion to promote economic opportunity and reduce violence in the region.
China, Taiwan and the South China Sea
Harris has largely delivered the White House message on the challenges posed by China, speaking repeatedly about the need to limit Chinese influence.
“We know that Beijing continues to coerce and intimidate “and to claim the vast majority of the South China Sea,” Harris said in a speech during a seven-day trip to Singapore and Vietnam in 2021.
“Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations,” she said. “The United States stands with our allies and partners in the face of these threats.”
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In 2022, Harris said the United States would “continue to support Taiwan’s Self-Defensein accordance with our long-standing policy.”
Harris’ visit to Singapore, a close U.S. ally that is home to a key U.S. naval base in Southeast Asia, follows visits to Asia by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in previous weeks. The Biden administration has sought to reassure Asian allies concerned about China’s aggressive policies in the region, particularly after the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The reason I’m here is because the United States is a global leader and we take that role seriously,” Harris said. She highlighted what she called America’s “enduring commitment” to Asia, evoking the previous administration’s arguments about ensuring an “open and free” Indo-Pacific region and “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.
NATO, Europe and Russia’s War on Ukraine
Harris expressed clear support for Ukraine as it continues to fight to repel the ongoing Russian invasion, and she reiterated the United States’ commitment to NATO’s transatlantic alliance with America’s European partners.
Earlier this year, she pledged that the United States would support Ukraine’s struggle “for as long as it takes.”
At the 2022 Munich Security Conference, Harris said the United States had “an unwavering commitment to NATO and the Alliance.”
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The meeting came as Russia deployed hundreds of thousands of troops along the Ukrainian border, just days before launching its full-scale invasion.
“The United States’ commitment to Article 5 is unwavering,” Harris said in 2022, referring to the mutual defense clause in NATO’s charter that says an attack on one member is an attack on all. “That commitment is sacrosanct to me, to President Biden, and to our entire nation.”
The War Between Israel and Hamas and the Broader Middle East
Harris said she supports Israel’s right to defend itself, but also that “how Israel defends itself matters.”
At a briefing in December 2023, Harris said that “as Israel pursues its military objectives in Gaza, we believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians.”
She said she and the president remained committed to the goal of a two-state solution.
“When this conflict ends, Hamas will no longer be able to control Gaza, and Israel must be secure. Palestinians need a political horizon of hope, economic opportunity, and freedom. And the region, more broadly, must be integrated and prosperous. And we must work to achieve that goal,” Harris said.
Josh Paul, a former director of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, told CBS News on Monday that Harris may seek to distance herself at least slightly from Biden’s policy toward Israel. Paul resigned in October over the Biden administration’s decision to continue supplying weapons to Israel as it launched military operations in Gaza.
He said Harris had been “the first and often the strongest voice in the Biden administration to talk about the need for a ceasefire, to talk about Palestinian humanitarian issues and, frankly, to humanize the Palestinians,” adding that he thought there was “room for some degree of optimism that as president she will take a different path.”
“I certainly don’t expect a Harris administration to depart in any way from America’s unwavering support for Israel,” he said.
He added that he believed Mr. Biden had “a very difficult time changing his mind on things that were, you know, fixed in his perceptions,” and said Harris could prove to be “a more pragmatic leader” if she won the nation’s top job.
Emmet Lyons contributed to this report.
