At Arizona border, Harris supporters say sensible views reap votes

TUCSON, Arizona — Southern Arizona voters who turned out to hear Vice President Kamala Harris announce her strategy for border security Friday described that her sensible approach is part of her appeal.

Local residents who spoke with the Washington Examiner at Harris's "border security and stability" campaign event said they were, in part, driven away from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump because of his all-or-nothing rhetoric and drawn to Harris because she was more matter-of-fact and embodied a common sense approach to issues.

"Her being the bigger person and just doing what she thinks she needs to do and saying what she needs to say, regardless of what [Trump] says, I think is huge," Christina Sgrillo of Benson said at the event on campus at Cochise College in Douglas Friday evening.

For her own part, Harris seemed to agree.

“Solutions are at hand if we focus on fixing a problem and not running on a problem,” Harris said during her speech, chiding Trump on immigration.

Douglas resident, Rich, who asked not to have his last name printed, said he had lived a few blocks from the international border for nearly five decades. The issue of illegal immigration was nothing new despite how he said the Trump campaign had become fixated on the issue over the past decade.

"Anybody that lives on this border and doesn't realize that this has been going on for decades is either a damn fool or a newcomer," Rich said.

Border residents such as himself were interested in seeing solutions to complex problems become law, not fighting and pointing fingers.

"We had that opportunity with this border bill, which was the best thing in a generation," said Rich. "Trump tanked it to use it for his campaign speeches."

Voters liked that Harris was not adamantly attached to intense positions on immigration, such as Trump's proposals to carry out mass deportation, wall off the rest of the southern border, and require people seeking asylum to remain in Mexico for months.

They liked that Harris painted in broad strokes, staking out her general feeling on a problem without making it an overly emotional matter.

Voters were not bothered by Harris's long-term absence from the border despite it having irked Republicans.

"I'm glad she's coming to the area and seeing what it's like, and she'll get her own view of it, and she'll be able to talk to the people down here," said Democratic Joni Giacomino, who is running for Cochise County Board of Supervisors District 2, which includes Douglas.

"She's got a lot to do as a vice president . And she is only the vice president — there's not a lot that she can do as far as what's going on with the border right now," said Sgrillo, 50.

That Harris has not led a congressional delegation and other politicians to the border time and time again as Republican groups have done so through the years was a refreshing change of pace to Rich.

"Biden and Harris have tried to deal with the border situation for some time. If she doesn't come here and stand in front of that crazy fence, it doesn't bother me a bit," said Rich. "I don't necessarily think you have to actually stand next to the fence. That's a photo op. Are you working for it? That's what's important to these people that live on the border."

While voters overwhelmingly agreed that the border was an important issue, all said the crisis at different parts of the 2,000-mile international boundary had not directly affected them over the past four years and that it was managed well today compared to decades ago.

"The border is a big issue. Immigration reform is needed," said Giacomino.

Voters were split on whether they were seeing more or less signs of illegal immigration in the region.

Carolyn Harris, campaign manager for Giacomino, said she had seen news stories of high-speed chases of cars fleeing law enforcement coming from the border.

"That kind of crazy stuff is happening, but I don't see it any more or any less than before," Carolyn Harris said. "I moved here in the '90s. I see way less immigration problems."

However, Thomas Guetzloff, dean of math and science at Cochise College , emphasized that the chases were happening and he had seen several in person dozens of miles north of the border.

"The car chases are a little scary when they're going 120 [miles per hour] by you. I live more towards Benson, and I've seen a couple flipped cars," said Guetzloff.

A resident from the next town over, Louanne Sterbick-Nelson of Bisbee, agreed that immigration was never something that seriously affected her community and added that Harris could handle anything thrown at her.

"She's doing a great job with the border. The border is safe," said Sterbick-Nelson. "I'm in love with Kamala Harris and what she can do."

However, Harris has taken plenty of flack for how she carried out her White House-appointed role of addressing the root causes that migrants flee Central America for the U.S. Migration from that part of the world continues to heavily affect the southern border, and the Biden-Harris administration has experienced more illegal immigrant arrests in three and a half years than any two-term president.

The situation has only come under control in recent months following enhanced cooperation from Mexico to prevent migrants from making it to the U.S. and President Joe Biden's crackdown in June that effectively halts migrants from seeking asylum.

In her speech on Friday, Kamala Harris said she would double down on that particular executive action and enhance punishments for illegal immigrants.

In a race that has increasingly focused on immigration and the border, voters said they wished other policies would get more attention from candidates and the media.

"Health care, that's huge," said Sgrillo. "I became a Type 1 diabetic when I was five years old, and that wasn't by choice. That was genealogy."

Sgrillo said she was paying $270 for a three-month supply of insulin but now pays nothing thanks to changes the Biden-Harris administration pushed through.

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Giacomino and Carolyn Harris each touted women's rights and issues as being at the forefront of their mind headed into this election.

"Honoring all the women behind me — my grandmothers could not vote. All the women who died for the right to vote, and now I finally have a chance where a woman could be president. I want it to happen in my lifetime," said Carolyn Harris. "I really believe that that's the way our world can improve. When women get in positions of power, we rule differently, and I believe it's a kinder, more beautiful, peaceful way to rule. And that's the kind of world I want to live in."