Harris: Immigration raids part of ‘campaign of terror’ that will result in ‘flawed’ census

Recent raids that swept up hundreds of undocumented immigrants in Mississippi are part of a “campaign of terror” that will result in a flawed census, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 presidential contender said in an interview that aired Sunday.

“This administration has directed [the Department of Homeland Security] to conduct these raids as part of what I believe is this administration’s campaign of terror, which is to make whole populations of people afraid to go to work,” Harris said during a campaign stop in Iowa on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

{mosads}“Children are afraid to go to school for fear that when they come home, their parents won’t be there. Parents are afraid to send their children to the pediatrician for fear that that will be contact with others,” she said.

“The 2020 census is coming up,” she added. “We have a lot of blended families in America, which is … multigenerational households including people who are documented and undocumented. When that census taker comes knocking at that door, they’re not going to answer the door. And I know this administration knows that.”

Harris also said that the census is conducted “as part of an extension of who we are as a democracy.”

“We say, ‘Every person matters. We count.’ We make decisions based on who’s here and what they need. And you and I will both suffer if that census count is flawed. And I’m telling you that, given the policies of this administration, that is going to be a flawed census.”

WATCH: Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris says the Trump administration is running a "campaign of terror." #MTP #IfItsSunday@SenKamalaHarris: "Children are afraid to go to school for fear that when they come home, their parents won't be there." pic.twitter.com/iWoQl8dnqW

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 11, 2019

Her comments come after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last Wednesday arrested roughly 680 allegedly undocumented immigrants at seven Mississippi poultry processing facilities.

The Mississippi raids follow a large-scale raid last year in Ohio, where a large landscaping company was investigated by ICE.

President Trump vowed in June to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants from the interior of the country.