Sen. Kelly defends Harris' past support for decriminalizing border crossings: "Got half a second to think."

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly stated on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris had limited time to consider her position before declaring support for decriminalizing illegal border crossings in 2019.

Kelly defended Harris' previous statements in favor of decriminalizing border crossings, stating, "You're discussing a primary in 2019 where someone raises their hand and you have only half a second to react."

Harris has previously supported decriminalizing illegal crossings and ending private detention.

"Kelly stated that the most important aspect of today is who is supporting the Border Patrol agents, and that person is Kamala Harris. He also pointed out that Donald Trump was responsible for killing the best chance we had for bipartisan legislation."

Kelly stated that Trump should not be taking the lead on the issue of border security in Arizona, as polling data shows that Trump is viewed as more trustworthy on this matter than Harris.

"Kelly stated that Kamala Harris has advocated for border security and is determined to achieve progress on this issue. She has taken a leading role on this issue."

A key political figure in a border and swing state stated that Trump erred by not backing the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Harris has advocated for decriminalizing illegal immigration and dismantling ICE on several occasions.

In 2017, Harris stated that an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.

As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris had pledged to close immigration detention centers on the first day of her presidency. In other statements, she had discussed the possibility of ICE starting from scratch.

"Harris stated on MSNBC in 2018 that there is no doubt that ICE's role and administration must be critically re-examined, and that it may be necessary to start from scratch."

Planet Chronicle Digital did not receive an immediate response from the Harris campaign when requested for a comment.

This report was contributed to by Julia Johnson, Chad Pergram, and Tyler Olson of Planet Chronicle.