Vance called Harris a ‘border czar’ during the VP debate. What does that mean?

(NEXSTAR) – Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and his 2024 running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, have increasingly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as a failed “border czar.” But what does that term actually mean?

The label is being used by both candidates to criticize Harris’ handling of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis. During the vice presidential debate Tuesday night, Vance suggested that Harris was appointed the “border czar” under the Biden administration.

“The only thing that she did when she became the vice president — when she became the appointed ‘border czar’ — was to undo 94 Donald Trump executive actions that opened the border,” Vance claimed, as he and his rival, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sparred over immigration.

“I’ve been to the southern border more than our ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris,” Vance said.

The phrase “border czar” isn’t an official title, but still carries connotations of authority. In politics, “czar” typically refers to a government official tasked with managing a major issue, according to the Cambridge Dictionary.

In Harris’ case, the label comes from President Joe Biden’s March 2021 decision to assign her the duty of addressing the “root causes” of migration from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. She was also tasked with encouraging leaders in those countries, as well as Mexico, to enforce immigration laws.

Harris was never asked to be the “border czar,” however, and she was never specifically given the responsibility for security on the border. Harris was also not empowered to set U.S. immigration policy — only the president can sign executive orders and Harris was not empowered as Biden’s proxy in negotiations with Congress on immigration law.

Last week, on Sept. 27, Harris visited the U.S.-Mexico border in her first trip there since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. She called for further tightening of asylum restrictions and also talked about prosecuting drug smuggling gangs that operated at the border.

Trump slammed her visit, claiming she only did it for “political reasons.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.