Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar reveals in his forthcoming memoir that he seriously considered launching a 2024 presidential campaign, driven by mounting frustration with the Biden administration's approach to the southern border crisis. In his book, Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America, Salazar recounts telling himself, “I should run for president,” according to a copy obtained by Politico.
Salazar, a former Democratic senator and interior secretary, argued there was a “political failure to understand the reality of the crisis at the border, and the political consequence it would have on Democrats in the 2024 election.” He repeatedly pressed White House officials and President Joe Biden to appoint a dedicated “border czar,” a role eventually given to then-Vice President Kamala Harris. But Salazar writes that Harris's designation had “no effect on migration flows,” adding that while she was tasked with addressing “root causes” of migration, “many felt she had been ineffective.”
His frustrations deepened over time. At one point, Salazar told his wife he was “not sure this administration knows what it's doing.” In the book, he describes the border as “antiquated, under-resourced, underdeveloped, insecure, and broken,” and notably concedes that on this issue, “Trump had been correct.”
Salazar consulted with advisors and even had a platform drafted, but ultimately abandoned the idea after the Democratic Party coalesced behind Harris as its nominee following Biden's withdrawal from the race. The episode underscores the internal Democratic angst over border policy, a vulnerability that Republicans have aggressively exploited. The recently signed $70 billion border security bill reflects the party's push to address these concerns.
In his book, Salazar warns future Democratic presidential contenders about the political perils of mishandling immigration. He proposes a new trilateral alliance among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to share economic and border responsibilities, an idea he outlined last week on his website under the banner “A New American Alliance: The Borderlands Platform.”
When asked repeatedly by Politico about a potential 2028 bid, Salazar demurred, saying, “I can't see the future beyond the reality that we have a November 2026 election, and a lot's going to happen this year.” He added, “I want this borderlands platform to be part of that agenda for the future.”
The revelations come amid broader Republican criticism of the Biden administration's border record, with some GOP figures arguing that the crisis has persisted despite high-level attention. The Senate's passage of a $70 billion border bill earlier this year highlighted the partisan divides over funding and strategy, while some Trump officials have blamed Biden for a resurgence of screwworm in livestock, adding another layer to the border debate.
