Harris Refuses to Openly Back Past Promise to Grant Dreamers Citizenship Path if Elected

Last week, Axios reported that while some progressive groups are out-spoken about their support of Kamala Harris, dozens of them also hope that her shift in immigration policies is only temporary. So far, little has been revealed on her policies were she to win the elections in November, but her New Way Forward policy platform, suggests she will seek to continue the Biden administration's current policies.

Among the stances progressives hope to see implemented in an eventual Harris administration is one she backed years ago. Back in 2019, while running for the Democratic candidacy that eventually went to Biden, she pledged to provide a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers, which are undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. by their parents as children.

"Every day in the life of a Dreamer who fears deportation is a long day," Harris said then. "Dreamers cannot afford to sit around and wait for Congress to get its act together. Their lives are on the line."

However, according to Axios, she now appears to be distancing herself from that promise, as the news site reports she has refused to publicly endorse the policy and her campaign declined to answer questions on the matter, offering only the following comment via a Ian Sams, a spokesperson:

"The vice president has fought for Dreamers throughout her career and is proud of the actions taken under her and President Biden to expand protections for them, including the executive action President Biden took this year, which she supported."

The campaign also declined to comment on whether Harris supported using "parole in place" for any other group of undocumented immigrants.

Harris has notably shifted her position on other issues, including her previous support for a ban on fracking, which she no longer endorses. As vice president, she has aligned closely with President Biden on immigration, backing more restrictive policies, including a bipartisan border security deal that proposes continuing the border wall construction and tightening asylum rules, policies that progressives have largely opposed.