Fact-checking Tim Walz and JD Vance’s VP debate

(NEW YORK) — In the first and only vice-presidential debate of the 2024 election, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are going head-to-head on the nation’s most pressing issues.

With just over 30 days till Election Day, the debate stage offers both candidates an opportunity to appeal to undecided voters and help solidify the Democratic and Republican platforms.

The high-stakes, 90-minute debate is being held at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on Tuesday.

As Walz and Vance make their case for a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump-led White House respectively, ABC News is live fact-checking their statements for answers that are exaggerated, need more context or are false.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

WALZ CLAIM: Gov. Walz said, “The persons closest to them, to Donald Trump, said he is unfit for the highest office. That is Senator Vance.”

FACT-CHECK: True

Vance has shifted his view toward former President Trump since he first rose to prominence. Early in his career, Vance made a number of comments that were disparaging toward Trump. The specific comment that Walz seems to be referencing here is from a 2016 New York Times op-ed written by Vance ahead of the release of his book “Hillbilly Elegy.” In the op-ed, Vance wrote, “Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”

In years since the op-ed was published, Vance has said his views on Trump changed.

-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin

VANCE CLAIM: Sen. Vance said, “We’ve got 20, 25 million illegal aliens who are here in the country”

FACT-CHECK: False

During Biden’s administration, immigration officials have encountered immigrants illegally crossing the U.S. border around 10 million times. When accounting for “got aways” — people who aren’t stopped by border officials — the number rises to about 11.6 million.

But encounters don’t mean admissions. Encounters represent events, so one person who tries to cross the border twice counts for two encounters. Also, not everyone encountered is let into the country.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates about 4.2 million encounters have led to expulsions or removals. About 3.9 million people have been released into the U.S. to await immigration court hearings under Biden’s administration, Department of Homeland Security data shows.

-PolitiFact’s Maria Ramirez Uribe