Calif. Sheriff ‘Really Upset’ Harris Featured Him in New Campaign Ad

A county sheriff in California expressed that he is "really upset" after being featured in a recent campaign advertisement by Vice President Kamala Harris, without being consulted or granting his permission.

“In light of a recent political ad put out by Kamala Harris featuring Sheriff [Mike] Boudreaux, as well as other local law enforcement, the Sheriff wants to make it abundantly clear that his image is being used without his permission, and he does NOT endorse Harris for President or any other political office,” stated Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

With 37 years of service in the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Boudreaux now holds the position of president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association. The footage used in the ad was originally filmed in 2013 in California’s Central Valley during Harris’s tenure as the state's attorney general.

The advertisement seeks to position Harris, who was appointed 'border czar' by President Joe Biden, as tough on immigration, claiming that “as Vice President, she backed the toughest border control bill in decades.”

However, federal statistics reveal that illegal border crossings have consistently hit record highs during the Biden-Harris administration. Harris has only visited the border once, and her efforts to address the "root causes" of illegal immigration included just a single trip to Central America.

Boudreaux described Harris’s 2013 visit as “smoke and mirrors.”

“We were in the green room. She never came in and said hello to any of us. She walked up front, gave her presser, literally walked out, never said hi to any of us,” Boudreaux recounted. “I’m disgusted because, you know, she didn’t shake hands. She didn’t say hello. And she’s taken credit for all this work that the locals did.”

In a written statement, Boudreaux criticized Harris, stating, “As Attorney General, Kamala Harris undercut efforts by California law enforcement officials to stop criminals from flooding our state with guns and drugs across the border.”

“She repeatedly defunded and shuttered task forces designed to protect our residents, leaving the Valley and our state vulnerable,” he added. “Kamala’s sad attempt to paint herself as tough on the border by implying my support – and the support of neighboring law enforcement leaders – is pathetic.”

Last month, the former head of the U.S. Border Patrol union criticized Harris for her failure to effectively address the causes of illegal immigration.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Brandon Judd, who recently retired, in an interview with Fox News. “We gave her the policies that she needed to implement. She refused to implement those.”

Judd's comments come as Harris faces increased scrutiny over her immigration and border security record, especially after President Biden announced that he would not seek re-election and would instead support Harris as his successor. Critics argue that Harris has fallen short on a key issue that could be crucial in the 2024 election.

In March 2021, President Biden appointed Harris to lead the administration’s efforts to tackle migration in response to growing concerns over a surge in illegal border crossings shortly after his election.

Fox News reported:

Later in 2021, Harris negotiated a memorandum of understanding with Mexico that saw the U.S. send $4 billion to help Central American countries address root causes of illegal migration, with private companies kicking in an extra investment of $5.2 billion to the cause.

But the vice president’s work on the issue quickly fizzled out, an NBC News report published Thursday revealed, noting that Harris visited Mexico in June 2021 to sign an agreement that resulted in $4 billion in direct assistance and $5.2 billion in private-public investment but has not visited the border or countries to its south since January 2022.

Since 2021, the Root Causes strategy has made no new commitments, the report notes.