The crisis at the southern border has become a centerpiece of the 2024 presidential race, as GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio hit out at Vice President Kamala Harris at the border on Thursday over her handling of the crisis — days after her campaign sought to draw a contrast between her and former President Trump on the hot-button issue.

"It's hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border," Vance said in Cochise County, Arizona. "They started their administration, Kamala Harris came into office... they stopped deportations on day one. They stopped construction of the border wall."

Vance tapped into Republican arguments about how the Biden administration ended what they see as successful Trump-era policies and unleashed havoc at the border.

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"We see the border wall sitting here, ready to be completed behind us. And that can't happen because of Kamala Harris' administration. They reinstated catch-and-release and they stopped Remain in Mexico," he continued. "So all these asylum claimants who come to our border, they can now get released into our country because they're not forced to stay in Mexico while we adjudicate their asylum claims." 

Vance also described securing the border as "not rocket science." 

"You just have to re-implement some commonsense policies. You've got to re-implement Remain in Mexico. You've got to stop catch-and-release," he said. "You've got to force these asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their claims are being adjudicated. And you've got to finish this border wall and re-implement deportations." 

Vance’s border visit came after former President Trump also said he will visit the border before November, potentially multiple times. 

Republicans have hammered Harris on the southern border, given not only the crisis there but Harris’ leadership in international diplomacy on root causes, which led to her being dubbed the "border czar" by the media and Republicans.

But Harris has pushed back, highlighting an endorsement by a group of mayors in Arizona border towns "praising her long record of fighting to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system, including her work going after transnational gangs smuggling weapons and drugs as California Attorney General and bringing border crossings to their lowest level in years with tough border policies in the White House."

This week, Harris released an ad contrasting her support of a bipartisan border package unveiled in the Senate which would have increased border funding and placed some limits on entries into the U.S. The Biden administration has said it would help tackle the border crisis, but Trump and his allies killed it off.

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The video argued that Harris "helped lead the way to record low border crossings and has spent her entire career keeping our communities safe," and charged that Trump "sided with drug traffickers and the cartels to block the strongest, fairest reforms to secure the border in decades."

The Trump campaign instantly pilloried the video.

"Every statement in Kamala’s border ad is an absolute lie. The truth is that President Trump handed the most secure border in history to the Biden-Harris Administration, and they opened it up by erasing every one of his good policies," the Trump campaign charged. "As Border Czar, Kamala Harris has overseen the worst immigration crisis in American history, enabling drug cartels to smuggle deadly fentanyl across our border and allowing more than 11 million illegal criminals and terrorists from all over the world to enter our country." 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Harris criticized Trump at a rally in Atlanta earlier this week, saying he "has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk."

She charged that the former president "tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election" and pledged that "as the president I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed."

After Vance’s speech on Thursday, Harris' campaign took aim at both Trump and Vance.

"Donald Trump and JD Vance are not offering Americans solutions — only insults, chaos, and fear. They don’t want security at our border, they want to spread fear. They don’t want to help working families, their Project 2025 agenda only hurts them," Harris for President spokesperson James Singer said.

Fox News' Greg Norman and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

A retired Recon Marine who conducted civilian rescues within Afghanistan, a former Navy SEAL and an ex-Pentagon chief are among the figures clamoring for Congress to hear from a top Afghan resistance leader and to stop directly or indirectly financially backing the Taliban government there.

Around the time of the U.S.' withdrawal, National Resistance Front (NRF) leader Ahmad Massoud returned to the Panjshir Valley in northern Afghanistan.

There, elements opposed to Taliban rule stuck it out until they were forced to flee — including Massoud, who escaped to neighboring Tajikistan. He reportedly was joined by at least one official from the deposed U.S.-backed democratic government: former Vice President Amrullah Saleh.

Saleh sought refuge in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, as of 2021, according to France24 News.

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According to Chad Robichaux, who took part in perilous civilian rescue operations in Afghanistan — including the evacuation of his former interpreter Aziz, who faced execution by the Taliban — Massoud has since been recognized as the de facto opposition figure-in-exile.

"Massoud is leading all of our allies of the last 20 years, all the people we left behind; our commandos, our interpreters, all the ones that chose to resist and then continue to fight…" Robichaux said. "We've completely abandoned him and our allies and the Afghan people."

Robichaux said the U.S. government essentially "switched teams" in the middle of the fight by allowing the Taliban to return to power.

He pointed to reports that billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer funds have gone to the Taliban, including through United Nations humanitarian appropriations that are majority funded by the U.S.

"[O]ur allies are trying to prevent a terrorist attack on the United States. But, you know, meanwhile, we're funding it. It's insane," Robichaux said, adding that Massoud may have information helpful to preventing another terror attack like 9/11 on U.S. soil.

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Robichaux added that Massoud’s father — of the same name — was the top anti-Soviet leader who helped the West battle the Taliban in Afghanistan decades ago.

Robichaux said Usama bin Laden had Massoud assassinated in the near-term prior to 9/11 because the terrorist knew the U.S. would need an allied figure in Afghanistan if they wanted to take on the Taliban.

"Twenty years later, his son is saying the same thing. There's a pending attack on the United States. You guys are sending money to the Taliban, and they're training a terrorist group to attack the United States," Robichaux said.

He went on to claim Massoud has been subject to an ambiguous "blacklist" from visiting the U.S. Therefore, Robichaux said, it is imperative that congressional leaders visit the Middle East to meet with him.

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department to confirm or deny the blacklist claim.

Massoud himself said the international community has conducted a policy of appeasement toward the Taliban government, which has failed to help the situation.

"We haven’t seen the Taliban relent on even one issue," Massoud said. "This policy will have global consequences as it allows the Taliban to buy time and achieve its goals with the 21 other regional and global terror networks."

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"For a peaceful world, a more realistic policy that benefits both the people of Afghanistan and prevents a global security crisis must be adopted. We must emphasize the support of the international community and the USA for a legitimate and democratic government solely based on the will and vote of Afghanistan’s citizens," he said.

When asked about the safety of lawmakers, should they agree to host Massoud abroad, Robichaux said another proponent of the petition, retired SEAL and podcast host Shawn Ryan, was able to do so in Austria as a civilian.

Fox News Digital also reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ahead of the petition’s formal delivery to inquire about the prospect of Congress meeting with Massoud, but did not hear back by press time.

According to the petition, which lists Ryan as primary author, Massoud’s testimony would shed light on the true situation in Afghanistan and better inform congressional decisionmaking and allocation of funding in the region.

"Moreover, Congress should redirect its financial support towards the NRF, restoring their critical logistical and aid support," the petition demands.

Later in his interview, Robichaux said there is one potential development that would render his concerns with the State Department moot: the election of former President Trump.

Robichaux said Trump has long indicated his aversion to assuaging malign regimes, and was confident he would find a way to stop U.S. funds ending up in Taliban hands.

"If there's a threat to the United States, [Trump] would let our Central Intelligence Agency do their job," he said.

Christopher Miller, Trump’s former defense secretary, claimed about $87 million in U.S taxpayer dollars per week are ending up in Taliban hands.

"[These are] the very same people that killed over 2,400 of our warriors and wounded another 21,000-plus and sheltered the leader of Al Qaeda — is beyond comprehension and the definition of criminal negligence," Miller said in calling for Congress to hear directly from Massoud.

At least one House lawmaker also agreed on the need for Massoud to brief Congress.

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former military sniper, said Massoud could shed light on a part of the world "deeply embroiled in chaos; only made worse by the current administration."