Harris promises a ‘new way forward’ in Vegas rally, pledges support for families and workers

In her Las Vegas rally, Kamala Harris highlighted her plans to help Nevadans pay for childcare, buy homes, and start small businesses, while also reiterating her commitment to  deliver on a path to citizenship for Dreamers.  

In her most recent Las Vegas appearance, Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday offered a sharp contrast between herself and her opponent, Donald Trump, by making specific promises on how she’d make life better for the American people, including Nevada’s Latino community and the roughly half-a-million Latinos eligible to vote in the state.

Speaking at the World Market Center in Downtown Las Vegas, Harris promised to address the cost of living and take on corporate price gouging; create jobs and get rid of “unnecessary degree requirements” for federal jobs; give a $50,000 tax deduction to help new small businesses; build 3 million new homes and provide first time home buyers with $25,000 down payment assistance; and expand the child tax credit to $6,000 for infants, $3,600 for parents with kids ages 1 to 5, and $3,000 for kids ages 6 to 17.

“America is ready to chart a new way forward, ready for a new and optimistic generation of leadership, which is why Democrats, Republicans, and independents are supporting our campaign,” Harris said. “Because we know we need a president who works for all the American people. Enough of the division, enough of the hate. We are all in this together.”

Trump, meanwhile, has “no plan on how he would address the needs of the American people,” Harris said to the rally’s 7,500 attendees, alluding to Trump’s statement during the Sept. 10 presidential debate about having “concept of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act. 

“Well, folks, it’s time to turn the page,” Harris said. 

Harris also promised to take on immigration reform, “with strong border security,” while also creating a path to citizenship for immigrants who have been in the US for years, including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. She also promised to “double the resources” for the Department of Justice to address drug, gun, and human trafficking. 

“[We’ll] go after those transnational cartels and take action to stop the flow of fentanyl coming into our country, which is destroying entire communities,” she said. 

According to the US Sentencing Commission, however, 86% of the people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking in 2023 were US citizens.   

“These are serious problems, and we know Donald Trump won’t solve them. When he was president, he did nothing to fix our immigration system,” Harris continued. “Look, we need a president who cares more about solving problems than playing political games and demeaning people full time. We’re tired of that. We’re done with that. So, Nevada, ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom.”

Freedom for Sandra Martin, who attended the rally with her 19-year-old daughter, means bodily autonomy, the ability to express herself without fear, and the chance to achieve the American dream — for her children and others, especially as an immigrant from Ecuador. 

“I’m an immigrant and this country means so much to me. My citizenship wasn’t given to me, I earned it … My father brought us here to this country when I was two, and I feel like a true patriot,” Martin told The Nevadan. “The fact that I have children here that possibly — when I’m gone — will have no rights, is a big issue for me.”

Harris also sought to unite voters beyond the rally, calling on people to show their patriotism and civic duty and “fight for the ideals of our country.” 

“We are here together because we know what is at stake. And we are here together because we love our country,” Harris said. “And I do believe that one of the highest forms of patriotism that we could show is to then fight for the ideals of our country. That’s what this is about. It is a fight to realize the promise of America.”