Former U.S. Mexico Ambassador Criticizes Biden Administration’s Border Strategy in New Book

Ken Salazar, who served as the United States ambassador to Mexico under President Joe Biden, says he repeatedly urged the White House to create a dedicated “border czar” to coordinate the federal response to immigration flows, but the position was never established. In his forthcoming memoir, Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America, Salazar argues that the administration’s reluctance to label the situation a “crisis” and its reliance on Vice President Kamala Harris to address “root causes” in Central America were ineffective.

Salazar recounts that by July 2024, after a poor showing in a presidential debate, he briefly considered running for president himself, but did not pursue a campaign. He now promotes a “new North American alliance” that would integrate supply chains, coordinate border patrols, and expand cultural exchanges among the United States, Canada and Mexico, echoing the Kennedy-era Alliance for Progress.

The former interior secretary says he 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 describes the U.S. borders as “broken” and in need of repair. He criticizes the decision to have Harris oversee migration issues, noting that her efforts did not alter migration flows.

A Biden administration spokesperson declined comment, and a Harris spokesperson did not respond. 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.

The book arrives amid polling that shows mixed public attitudes toward former President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement and a perception that Republicans are viewed more favorably than Democrats on the issue. Salazar hopes his regional proposal will influence the Democratic Party’s approach 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.

"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.

Salazar’s memoir is positioned as both a personal account and a policy manifesto, urging Democratic leaders to adopt a collaborative North American strategy to address immigration and border security.