In Austin, former President Donald Trump blasts Vice President Kamala Harris' border security policies days before election
NORTH TEXAS – Inside a hangar at Austin's airport and before hundreds of supporters, former President Donald Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris' record on illegal immigration.
"What Kamala Harris has done on our border is cruel, it's vile, and it's absolutely heartless. Her abolition of our border should disqualify her from ever running," Trump said.
Federal statistics show there have been a record eight million apprehensions of migrants along the southern border during the Biden-Harris administration. However, since President Biden issued an executive order this summer to tighten asylum laws, the number of migrants crossing illegally has plummeted to its lowest levels during his term.
Despite this, Trump claimed crimes committed by migrants have worsened, including the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray of Houston, allegedly by two members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Her mother, Alexis Nungaray, spoke about her family's pain.
"Now I will forever be a grieving mother, and my son will be a grieving brother who will no longer get to grow up with his sister. Kamala Harris has never reached out to me," she said.
Trump promised to secure the border.
"We're the party of common sense. There's no common sense to an open border and I will stop this nightmare immediately," he said.
After his event, the former president went to do an interview with Joe Rogan, whose studio is in Austin. Rogan's podcast reportedly has nearly 15 million followers, many of them young men who analysts believe could make a difference in this tight race against Vice President Harris.
Sen. Ted Cruz attended Trump's event. His appearance with the former president came on the same day his Democratic challenger, Rep. Colin Allred, appeared with the vice president in Houston to push for abortion or reproductive rights in Texas.
When asked about his level of concern about the Democrats campaigning on the issue in Texas, which has a near ban on the procedure, Cruz told CBS News Texas it was the best summation of the campaigns.
"I think it's fantastic when I saw the announcement that Colin Allred is going to appear with Kamala Harris in Houston today. That they are embracing and running as one ticket. I actually retweeted that on X and said I'm Ted Cruz and I approved this message. You want the very simple contrast, you got the contrast," Cruz said.
The Senate race is competitive, with Cruz leading Allred in the Real Clear Politics average of polls by 4.2 percentage points. Trump leads Harris by a higher margin in the same polling average in this red state, with a 6.0 percentage point lead. After visiting the Lone Star State, Trump will return to the all-important seven battleground states where he has a small lead in each state.
Watch "Eye On Politics" at 7:30 a.m. Sunday on CBS News Texas on air and streaming.
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