Democratic National Convention Tackles Immigration Policy
A cadre of speakers at the Democratic National Convention addressed immigration policy and border security Wednesday in an attempt to redefine what has been widely viewed as a major political vulnerability for Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris in this campaign cycle.
The speakers, including Democratic lawmakers focused on immigration policy and the sheriff of a Texas county near the U.S.-Mexico border, embraced a bipartisan border security deal forged earlier this year. This deal proposes significant restrictions on asylum and funds the hiring of thousands of additional Border Patrol agents and immigration officers.
The DNC speakers accused former President Donald Trump of playing political games on immigration by urging Republican lawmakers to reject the border policy compromise, which ultimately collapsed in Congress without sufficient GOP support. They painted Trump as anti-immigrant, highlighting his controversial campaign pledges, including a promise to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants as part of a massive operation.
Among those addressing the issue was Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic negotiator for the border security deal. “Donald Trump’s allies weren’t just in the room; they helped us write the whole bill,” Murphy stated, calling it “a bipartisan bill.” He added, “One Republican said it would have had almost unanimous support if it weren’t for Donald Trump.”
Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, criticized Trump, stating, “When he killed the border bill, he just made our jobs harder.”
Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar of California, the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, sought to portray Harris as tough on border security while also highlighting her role in a Biden administration plan unveiled in June. This plan aims to provide a path to citizenship for about 500,000 migrants married to U.S. citizens.
“As a prosecutor, she took on transnational gangs and cartels,” Aguilar said. “As president, she will fight for pathways to citizenship.”
Representative Tom Suozzi of New York, who has countered Republican attacks on immigration in a Long Island swing district by embracing centrist stances, told the crowd, “To be a nation of immigrants is hard sometimes too. You have to work for it.” He added, “The polarization on immigration is so painful. The border is broken. But this year, when Democrats and Republicans worked together to finally write new border laws, we were blocked.”
Social media influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina quoted the late President Ronald Reagan, stating, “‘As Ronald Reagan, a Republican, once said, ‘We lead the world because unique among nations we draw our people, our strength, from every country, every corner of the world.’ Reagan knew that welcoming immigrants is not a Democratic or a Republican value; it is an American value.”
The speeches suggest that Democrats are doubling down on their efforts to neutralize attacks on immigration, which Republicans and Trump have sought to turn into a defining issue of the 2024 race. Trump is planning to visit an area near the Arizona-Mexico border to offer counter-programming to the DNC.
Surveys over the past year have shown immigration is one of the worst-polling issues for the Biden-Harris administration. Recent polls indicate that voters believe Trump is more likely to reduce migrant crossings at the southern border than Harris.
Trump and Republicans have criticized Harris for the unprecedented levels of border crossings recorded in recent years, branding her the Biden administration’s “border czar,” despite her not being given that title. Instead, she was tasked with overseeing diplomatic efforts to address poverty, violence, and other root factors of migration from Central America. They have also highlighted her more liberal immigration stances during her 2020 presidential bid, including her support for decriminalizing border crossings.
However, Harris has attempted to change that perception on the campaign trail. At rallies, she has promised to revive the bipartisan border security agreement if elected and to push for an “earned” path to U.S. citizenship for long-standing undocumented immigrants. In a recent ad, the Harris campaign touted her work against international gangs as a prosecutor and her support for increasing the ranks of Border Patrol agents.
Harris’ attempts to portray herself as a champion of border security underscore a broader trend among most Democrats to coalesce around tougher messaging on border issues. The party platform adopted at the DNC this week embraced limits on asylum, marking a departure from its more progressive immigration stances in 2020.
The 2024 platform supports quickly deporting economic migrants and calls on Congress to “strengthen requirements” for asylum claims. It states that presidents should have the power to “stop processing” asylum claims when the “system is overwhelmed.” In contrast, the 2020 platform did not reference any restrictions on asylum and promised to “protect and expand the existing asylum system and other humanitarian protections.”
The party platform at that time denounced Trump-era immigration policies as “callous, cruel, and reckless in the extreme.”
