Kamala Harris rebukes Beto O'Rourke's call to tear down existing border barriers

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at George Washington University in Washington. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at George Washington University in Washington. Photo: Sait Serkan Gurbuz / Associated Press Photo: Sait Serkan Gurbuz / Associated Press Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Kamala Harris rebukes Beto O'Rourke's call to tear down existing border barriers 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

Unlike former Texas congressman and potential Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, California Sen. Kamala Harris says she does not support tearing down existing barriers on the southern border.

During a Wednesday night appearance on "The Daily Show," the 2020 presidential candidate was asked by host Trevor Noah whether she supports O'Rourke's call to tear down the existing 700 miles of fencing on the U.S. border with Mexico.

"No, I believe that we need border security," Harris said. "But we need smart border security. We can't have open borders, we need to have border security, all nations do. All nations define their borders, but we should not have a policy and perspective that is grounded in keeping people out for the sake of this nationalistic kind of thing this president is trying to push."

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During an interview with MSNBC last week, O'Rourke said he would "absolutely" tear down the border wall in El Paso, Texas, if he could.

"Absolutely, I'd take the wall down," O'Rouke said. "Here's what we know: After the Secure Fence Act, we have built 600 miles of wall and fencing on a 2,000 mile border. What that has done is not in any demonstrable way made us safer."

O'Rourke said that existing barriers have forced migrants to travel more dangerous parts of the southern border, "ensuring their suffering and death."

"They're dead, over the last 10 years, as we have walled off their opportunity to legally petition for asylum to cross in urban centers, like El Paso," he said. "To be with family. To work jobs. To do what any human being should have a right to be able to do."

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Harris said that while she believes in border security, she wants borders that "allow people to come in."

"That is part of the strength of our nation," she said. "We are a nation that was founded and has grown because we have always welcomed immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. Look, if you are not Native American, your people are immigrants, well except for those who were kidnapped and brought over on a slave ship."

Harris' rhetoric is consistent with her past remarks on immigration, where she resisted calls from the progressive wing of her party to completely abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and instead hoped to reform it.

"I think there's no question that we've got to critically re-examine ICE and its role, and the way that it is being administered and the work it is doing," she told MSNBC in June 2018. "And we need to probably think about starting from scratch, because there is a lot that is wrong with the way that it's conducting itself, and we need to deal with that."

You can watch Harris' full interview with Trevor Noah here.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eting@sfchronicle.com and follow him on Twitter

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