Kamala Harris fires back over failed border czar jab: 'Trump killed border bill'

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday strongly rebuked former President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on her handling of border security, accusing him of undermining a bipartisan effort to strengthen the US-Mexico border.

In her first major interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris blamed Trump for the very border security issues he has frequently castigated. This comes after a Trump campaign attack ad linked Harris to the issue of illegal immigration and crime stemming from it.

"Donald Trump got word of this bill that would’ve contributed to securing our border," Harris told CNN. "And because he believes that it would not have helped him politically, he told his folks in Congress, ‘Don’t put it forward.’ He killed the bill: a border security bill that would’ve put 1,500 more agents on the border."

In recent weeks, Trump and the Republican Party have relentlessly attacked Harris about the border. "If border czar Harris stays in charge, every week will bring a never-ending stream of illegal alien rapists, bloodthirsty killers, and child predators to go after our sons and our daughters," Trump said at a rally in North Carolina.

Harris fired back, pointing out that the border bill Trump opposed would have bolstered efforts to stop fentanyl, a highly addictive opiod, from entering the US. Harris pledged that if elected, she would revive the bill, which she argued could have made a significant impact on border security.

"Not only [would I] push it, I would make sure that it would come to my desk and I would sign it," she said.

Harris also clarified her stance on border security, stating that she does not support decriminalising illegally crossing the border into the US.

"I believe there should be consequences," she stated. "We have laws that have to be followed and enforced that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally. And there should be consequence."

At the Democratic Convention, Harris backed the construction of a wall along the United States' southern border, a project she once opposed and called "un-American" during the Trump administration.

When asked how voters should view her policy shift, the Vice President was firm: "My value around what we need to do to secure our border, that value has not changed."

The Democrat also highlighted her experience in dealing with border issues. "Let’s be clear, in this race, I’m the only person who has prosecuted transnational criminal organisations who traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings," she said.

"I’m the only person in this race who actually served a border state as attorney general to enforce our laws. And I would enforce our laws as president going forward," Harris asserted.