Flashback: Harris compared ICE to KKK, said images of Border Patrol agents ‘evoked slavery’

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Vice President Harris, both as senator and vice president, has caused controversy with Homeland Security agencies, comparing one to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and fueling a since-discredited narrative about Border Patrol agents on horseback allegedly whipping migrants.

ICE and KKK

At a November 2018 confirmation hearing, then-Sen. Harris asked Ronald Vitiello, who was former President Trump’s nominee to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if he was "aware of the perception" of parallels between ICE and the KKK.

Harris had highlighted a tweet from Vitiello from 2015 in which he said the Democratic Party was comparable to a "neo-Klanist" entity. Vitiello apologized and admitted that those words were offensive.

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Vice President Harris (Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

"What is the history that would then make those words wrong?" Harris asked, to which Vitiello said the KKK would be labeled as a domestic terrorist group by today’s standards and was motivated by race and ethnicity and tried to use "fear and force."

"Are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and the discretion at ICE is being used to enforce the laws and do you see any parallels?" she asked.

Vitiello pushed back by saying, "I do not see any parallels" between the agency and the white supremacist group, and he asked whether she was asking him if the two were in the same category.

"No, I'm very specific about what I'm asking you. Are you aware of a perception that the way that they ..." Harris went on before the nominee said, "I see none."

"Are you aware that there is a perception that ICE is administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation, particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America?" she asked again.

Harris ended her questioning by asking whether Vitiello could lead the agency if he was not aware of the negative views toward it.

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"Sir, how can you be the head of an agency and be unaware of how your agency is perceived by certain communities?" she asked.

That sparked outrage at the time, with Republicans accusing her of making the comparison for political purposes.

"Kamala Harris is trying to launch her 2020 campaign off of comparing ICE officers to the KKK, and it's absolutely disgusting," then-Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted.

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Border Patrol agents on horseback 

Three years later, in 2021, Harris upset Border Patrol agents when she helped fuel a narrative about horseback agents who encountered migrants during the Haitian migrant surge in Del Rio, Texas.

Based on images of agents using their reins to control their horses, some Democrats, including President Biden, accused agents of whipping migrants. Harris did not explicitly mention whipping, but she did pile the pressure on the agents.

"What I saw depicted about those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were was horrible," Harris told reporters. "And I fully support what is happening right now, which is a thorough investigation into exactly what is going on there. But human beings should never be treated that way. And I'm deeply troubled about it. And I'll also be talking to [Homeland Security] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas about it today."

Her statement coincided with statements by Biden who promised "they will pay." Days later, Harris said the images evoked slavery.

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Customs and Border Protection mounted officers attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

"Human beings should not be treated that way," Harris told "The View" hosts. "It also invoked images of some of the worst moments of our history, where that kind of behavior has been used against the Indigenous people of our country, it has been used against African Americans during times of slavery."

A subsequent investigation faulted the agents for minor infractions but found the underlying claims that migrants were whipped were not true. Mayorkas, who had criticized the agents, would later go on to defend them last year when a reporter would cite the incident.

"Well, let me just correct you right there because actually the investigation concluded that the whipping did not occur," he said.

The comments from Harris also sparked outrage from Border Patrol agents at the time, who spoke to Fox News.

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"Again, it is clear that those in charge, a term that is disgusting to use, have no clue about our operations and frankly operate by ignorance and unhinged emotions," one said.

Harris, however, has not backed down from her remarks on either incident.

"The only ‘plan’ Donald Trump has to secure our border is ripping mothers from their children and a few xenophobic placards at the Republican National Convention," Harris campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement on Monday. "He tanked the bipartisan border security deal because, for Donald Trump, this has never been about solutions just running on a problem. Like everything with Donald Trump, it’s never been about helping the country, it's only about helping himself. There’s only one candidate in this race who will fight for bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security, and that’s Vice President Harris."

Immigration will likely be a top priority for Harris if she is elected president, given the ongoing situation at the border. She was tasked with heading international diplomacy to deal with the migration crisis in 2021, which led to her being dubbed the "border czar" by Republicans and media outlets. Her campaign has said that, if elected, she will fight for solutions to strengthen the border. It has also taken aim at signs calling for mass deportations at the recent GOP convention.