As Democrats gather in Chicago this week to endorse the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India as their presidential candidate, her Republican opponent will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to highlight what he calls the “immigrant invasion” and his promise to launch “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
The contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump illustrates the importance that border security has taken on in this year's presidential election, as both Democrats and Republicans respond to polls showing that a growing number of voters want to curb the arrival of new immigrants into the country.
On Monday night, President Biden touted the sharp decline in arrests at the border since he implemented an executive action limiting access to asylum, and sought to point out differences with Republicans’ position on the issue.
“Unlike Trump, we will not demonize immigrants, saying they are ‘poisoning the blood’ of America,” Biden said, referencing a comment Trump made last year that echoed rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler. “Kamala and I are committed to strengthening legal immigration, including protecting Dreamers and more.”
On Tuesday night, former President Obama said Harris could move the country beyond the tired debates that stifle progress because she and her running mate Tim Walz “understand that we can secure our borders without separating children from their parents.”
During the first two days of the Democratic National Convention, mentions of immigration were overshadowed by talk of the COVID-19 pandemic, party unity and ways to help the working class — presenting a sharp contrast to last month’s Republican National Convention, when Trump supporters painted immigrants as violent criminals, drug dealers and terrorists.
The rest of the Democratic convention could bring more mixed messages on immigration and the border.
Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo predicted the convention would focus on other issues.
“The border tends to be a regional issue,” he said. “I don’t know if the border is as high a priority in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania or Georgia.”
Republican consultant Mike Madrid said the problem is not going away.
“This is potentially the most vulnerable weak spot for Kamala Harris,” Madrid said of border security. “If she can get vaccinated against this and have a legitimate strategy on this, her chances of winning are very good. If she doesn’t, her chances of losing are very good.”
Hoping to keep Democrats on the defensive, Trump plans to visit the border in Arizona on Thursday, the same day Harris is scheduled to formally accept his nomination. His campaign said in a statement that the trip is meant to highlight that there is “no end in sight to Kamala Harris’ border crisis.”
Republicans, including Trump, have called Harris a “border czar” and blamed her for failing to stem illegal immigration. Her real immigration policy portfolio was limited to addressing the root causes of migration in certain Latin American countries.
Last month, the Republican-led House of Representatives agreed to a resolution “condemning the failure of the Biden administration and its border czar, Kamala Harris, to secure the U.S. border.”
At the Republican National Convention, speakers focused on immigration, saying it endangers public safety. Trump’s former rival Nikki Haley called it “the greatest threat facing Americans.”
The top priority in the Republican Party’s 2024 platform is “closing the border and stopping the immigration invasion.” It pledges to complete the border wall, move thousands of military troops stationed overseas to the border, reinstate Trump’s first-term immigration policies, and carry out the largest deportation operation in history.
Democrats voted Monday to approve their 2024 platform, though it had not been updated since Biden dropped out of the race. The platform’s immigration chapter says a second Biden term would see him push Congress to pass legislation codifying emergency authority to temporarily halt the processing of most asylum claims; reform the asylum system to strengthen requirements for valid claims; raise the annual cap on immigrant visas; and support a pathway to citizenship for long-term immigrants who lack legal documentation.
Harris recently released an ad highlighting her record as a California prosecutor and her support for “the toughest border enforcement bill in decades.” In it, she promises that as president, she will “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”
At a rally in Arizona earlier this month, Harris acknowledged that the immigration system is broken.
“We know what it will take to fix this: comprehensive reform that includes strong border security and an earned path to citizenship,” he said.
He criticized Trump for pressuring House Republicans earlier this year to abandon their support for a bipartisan border security deal. “Donald Trump scuttled the deal,” he said.
Harris’s support for that bill — which many progressives opposed because it did not include a path to citizenship — marked a shift from her previous rhetoric on the issue; as a prosecutor in California and as a U.S. senator, she had a track record advocating for immigrants.
Republican strategist Madrid said the shift is part of a broader shift by many Democrats toward a tougher border message.
In another example, while Biden in his speech highlighted his action to limit access to asylum, he did not mention a separate program, which went into effect Monday, that would give 500,000 undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens access to a path to citizenship. Immigrant advocates criticized Biden for not mentioning the policy, calling it a missed opportunity.
Madrid said Democrats are struggling to find the right strategy on the issue.
“This has been a 180-degree turn for the Democratic Party, relative to their traditional approach to Latino voters in general and the issue of immigration in particular,” he said. “It’s intentional. Combining immigration reform with border security has proven to be an absolute disaster for them, and they are fixing it.”
Kerri Talbot and Beatriz Lopez, who lead the advocacy group Immigration Hub, urged Harris to strive for a balanced message on immigration. In a memo Monday, they said the group’s research had consistently found that most people don’t know where Democrats stand on the issue, “leaving Trump and Republicans to fill in the blanks.”
The message that resonates most with those voters is “keeping families together,” Talbot and Lopez wrote. They also noted that the American Civil Liberties Union has found that voters who receive only “tough on immigration” messages lose interest.
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the immigrant advocacy organization Global Refuge, said the convention presents an opportunity for Democratic leaders to push back against Republican fearmongering “and openly argue that America without immigrants is no America at all.”
