Here’s where Vice President Kamala Harris has stood on some important criminal justice and immigration issues, from her time as a prosecutor to her 2020 presidential campaign. President Joe Biden, other top Democrats and thousands of delegates have endorsed Harris — a former prosecutor, U.S. senator and 2020 presidential candidate — after Biden ended his re-election bid.
✍️: Jamiles Lartey & Lakeidra Chavis; 🎥: Chris Vazquez / The Marshall Project
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Transcript:
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: Why are people calling Kamala Harris a cop?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: Here in 2017—
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: We time traveled?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: Yes. Harris is wrapping up her time as California’s top prosecutor — which some people call “top cop.”
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: A progressive prosecutor?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: It’s complicated. When she was the San Francisco district attorney, she promised to not seek the death penalty. Then as California’s attorney general, her office argued in favor of it. And critics say she’s helped fuel mass incarceration.
[Scene change indicating the passage of time]
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: Where does Harris stand now on criminal justice?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: Here in 2019, she’s running for president to the left of Biden. She wants to end solitary confinement and federal mandatory minimum sentences, decriminalize border crossings, and create a system to release more federal prisoners.
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: What about policing?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: She wants a national standard for police use of force, and more oversight over police shootings. Wanna watch “The New Mutants”?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: The release date got pushed back.
[Scene change indicating the passage of time]
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: Where does Harris stand now on criminal justice?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: The Biden-Harris administration has promoted some reforms, like these gun safety laws, but justice reform advocates say they could do a lot more.
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: Like what?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: For one thing, Biden campaigned on ending the federal death penalty and undoing Trump’s immigration policies. That hasn’t happened.
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: Isn’t Harris the “border czar”?
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: No, she doesn’t oversee the border. But Biden tasked her with addressing the root causes of migration and she got pushback for telling migrants…
KAMALA HARRIS: “Do not come.”
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: She’s tried moving past that, though.
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 1: Last question: The coconut tree meme—
CHRIS VAZQUEZ 2: I don’t get it, either.
