Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett is featured in the resurfaced video
Then-Sen. Harris chants down, down with deportation at 2018 parade
Then-Sen. Kamala Harris is seen in resurfaced footage chanting "down, down with deportation" at a California parade in 2018. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Newly emerged footage shows then-Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., chanting "down, down with deportation" at a parade in Los Angeles in 2018 when she was pursuing more aggressively left-wing positions on immigration.
The video, obtained by Fox News Digital, took place at the 2018 Annual Kingdom Day Parade, where she was named Grand Marshal.
In the clip, she can be seen joining in with a chant of "up, up with education, down, down with deportation" as she chants along while also applauding and smiling.
HARRIS SHIFTS KEY POSITIONS ON BORDER, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS CAMPAIGN PROMISES ‘PRAGMATIC’ APPROACH
Sen. Kamala Harris is pictured at a parade in California. (Obtained by Fox News Digital.)
The video was first reported by the Daily Mail Online, which also noted that in the video is actor Jussie Smollett, who would eventually be convicted of falsely claiming to have been attacked by Trump supporters in Chicago.
Harris came to Smollett's defense shortly after he falsely claimed he was attacked by Trump supporters, saying, "This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin."
Harris adopted left-wing proposals in her 2019 presidential primary campaign. She promised to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) by executive order — which gives protection to illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors.
She said she would eliminate age requirements on applications, and use parole authority to create a "parole in place" program to put those illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett (Left) appeared in a resurfaced 2018 video that featured then-Senator Harris (Right) (Chicago Police Department via Getty Images | Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Since becoming the 2024 presidential nominee, she has faced scrutiny over her role overseeing the root causes of the migrant crisis at the southern border — which led to her being dubbed the "border czar."
She has also shifted some of her campaign positions, moving more to the center. Her campaign confirmed to Fox earlier this month that she changed her positions on a number of immigration and border-security policies, including decriminalizing illegal crossings and closing immigration detention centers.
A Harris campaign adviser told Fox that her positions have been "shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration."
The campaign says now that she is "continuing to ensure sufficient resources to enforce our laws and prioritize detention and removal for individuals who pose threats to public safety and national security, as well as ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and decisions, including removal."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
She has repeatedly backed the bipartisan Senate package that emerged from negotiations in the chamber earlier this year, which increases funding for the border, including ICE bed space, and a mechanism to limit asylum entries into the U.S.
"While Donald Trump is wedded to the extreme ideas in his Project 2025 agenda, Vice President Harris believes real leadership means bringing all sides together to build consensus," spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement last month. "It is that approach that made it possible for the Biden-Harris administration to achieve bipartisan breakthroughs on everything from infrastructure to gun violence prevention. As President, she will take that same pragmatic approach, focusing on common-sense solutions for the sake of progress."
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at
