Former U.S. Mexico Ambassador Slams Biden’s Weak Border Policies, Calls for Stronger Security Measures
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Ken Salazar, former ambassador to Mexico, blasts the Biden administration for failing to secure the border and lays out a robust regional plan in his upcoming memoir.
Ken Salazar, who served as the United States ambassador to Mexico under President Joe Biden, delivers a scathing critique of the administration’s disastrous handling of the border crisis. Salazar reveals that he repeatedly urged the White House to appoint a “border czar” to coordinate a decisive federal response to the overwhelming surge of illegal immigration, but the administration refused, leaving the border vulnerable. In his forthcoming memoir, Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America, Salazar slams the administration’s refusal to even call the situation a “crisis” and criticizes its reliance on Vice President Kamala Harris to address so-called “root causes” in Central America—an approach that has proven completely ineffective as illegal crossings continue to soar.
Salazar recounts that by July 2024, after President Biden’s embarrassing debate performance, he briefly considered running for president himself, highlighting the lack of leadership in the Democratic Party. He now advocates for a “new North American alliance” to integrate supply chains, coordinate border patrols, and expand cultural exchanges among the United States, Canada, and Mexico, drawing on the successful security-focused strategies of the past.
The former interior secretary has met with Democratic senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego and is scheduled to meet Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to discuss his “borderlands” platform, which bluntly describes the U.S. borders as “broken” and in urgent need of repair. He criticizes the decision to put Harris in charge of migration issues, noting that her efforts did nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigration.
A Biden administration spokesperson declined to comment, and a Harris spokesperson did not respond, reflecting the administration’s lack of transparency and accountability. Salazar also cites a 2023 conversation with former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in which Mayorkas expressed concern about impeachment pressures related to the border, exposing the administration’s political weakness.
The book arrives amid polling that shows mixed public attitudes toward former President Donald Trump’s tough immigration enforcement and a perception that Republicans are viewed more favorably than Democrats on the issue—proof that Americans want stronger border security. Salazar hopes his regional proposal will push the Democratic Party to finally get serious about border enforcement in upcoming elections, though he declined to confirm any personal presidential ambitions for 2028.
"I'm not sure this administration knows what they're doing," Salazar told his wife after President Biden’s 2023 visit to Mexico, echoing the concerns of millions of Americans.
"This should have been a moment of vindication … but it was too late," he wrote about the June 2024 executive order that limited southern border crossings, criticizing the administration’s failure to act sooner.
Salazar’s memoir serves as both a personal account and a call to action, urging Democratic leaders to adopt a strong, collaborative North American strategy to finally secure the border and restore order.
