Democrats are trying to outmaneuver Republicans and persuade voters to solve issues at the U.S. border with Mexico while emigration is shaping the elections that will determine control of Congress, embracing an problem that has historically been used against them.
The shift in strategy, particularly from Democrats running in battleground states, comes as the Biden administration has struggled to manage an , extraordinary flood of migrants , at the Southwest borders. Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee for president, has led his party in calling for large persecution of refugees and calling for mass deportations of immigrants. And as the GOP looks to flip control of the Senate, they are tying Democrats to President Joe Biden’s management of immigration.
The strategy has already been used extensively in elections like Arizona’s Senate race, which Democrats nearly certainly need to get to protect their majority. Republican Kari Lake has frequently linked Rep. Ruben Gallego, the likely Democratic nominee, to Biden, telling the audience at a March function that” there’s really no a distinction between the two”.
Liberals are no longer shrugging off like problems: They believe they can tout their own ideas for fixing the frontier, particularly after Trump and Republican lawmakers , rejected a bipartisan proposal on frontier security , earlier this year.
” It gives some Liberals an opportunity to say,’ Look, I’m around for options,'” Gallego said. ” Plainly, the Republicans are here to play games. And therefore whether it’s Kari Lake or Donald Trump, they’re not engaged in border security. They’re interested in the elections of frontier protection. And, we’re these to really do something about it”.
Gallego had served in the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the majority of his five House words, but as he prepared for a Senate work, he abruptly quit. He’s now focusing on his efforts to increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees and secure funding for areas that have experienced recent spikes in immigration, which he refers to as a” crisis.”
Next month, Gallego criticized the GOP for thwarting the republican border costs while standing in front of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona.
” Every moment we wait means more fentanyl murders, more pressure on our first responders, and the looming possibility of road releases,” he said.” No little society wants this,” he said.
Democrats are hoping to increase their chances of winning the Senate by resurrecting Texas, at least in one race, just two states later. Some see a chance to flip a long- held GOP seat , by fielding Rep. Colin Allred, D- Texas, against Sen. Ted Cruz.
On the campaign trail, Allred has emphasized his ties to border communities and recalled his grandfather’s visits to Brownsville, Texas, where he spent his early years working as a customs officer.
” Our border communities are not just political backdrops, not just places you go to point out problems”, he said at a news conference last month. ” They’re places where real people live, where they’re trying to raise their families”.
A House task force with a focus on border security has joined both Allred and Gallego. Some Senate Democrats have recently tapped into legislation that focuses on immigration enforcement. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has run ads calling on GOP senators to oppose the bipartisan Senate deal.
It all serves as a part of a campaign to persuade swing voters that Democrats are serious about border policy, neutralizing the GOP’s position on the subject.
Democrats wo n’t win on immigration this year, but they must move closer to a draw on the issue to reach a consensus among centrist Democrat think tank Third Way, according to Lanae Erickson, a senior vice president. Be approachable enough to convince people to decide whether or not to take other priorities into account.”
Democrats still have a difficult time navigating the politics of border security. A new poll from , The Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs Research , has found that almost half of adults blame Biden and congressional Democrats for the current situation at the U. S. Mexico border, while 41 % blame Republicans in Congress.
Republicans are also using almost every tool in Congress to denounce Biden’s approach to the southern border. In exchange for supporting Ukraine, they are obviating Democrats to vote for tougher border security measures and changing their policies. And the House in February , impeached , Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the southern border.
” The reason you’re seeing the Democrats talk about the border is because they have a political crisis, not because they’re trying to solve the border crisis”, said Sen. Steve Daines, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. President Biden can return to the Oval Office with a stroke of a pen and make significant inroads in solving this issue if they truly want to solve the border crisis. But he makes a decision not to.”
Daines traveled to Arizona this week as part of a campaign to support Lake, a fervent Trump supporter who has claimed she lost a 2022 governor’s race because of fraud. Republicans lost a number of Senate elections in 2022, including those in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, after Trump-backed candidates struggled to raise money and establish a broader, more moderate audience during the general election.
This year, as Republicans look to win Senate seats in West Virginia, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland, they are uniting around border policy changes. Additionally, they bring up previous opinions and votes from vulnerable senators as well as Gallego and Allred.
One political action committee affiliated with Cruz has launched an ad in Texas criticizing Allred for calling the border wall “racist” in 2018. And according to an analysis by media tracking firm AdImpact, over$ 26 million was spent in February on TV ads about the border and immigration in federal and down- ballot races in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio by candidates, political groups and other groups.
Still, Democrats on Capitol Hill , have all opposed , Republican legislation that would bring back many of the Trump administration’s border policies, including restarting construction of border walls.
” You’re going to be painted as an open border Democrat no matter what, so talk about solutions”, said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist.
She urges candidates to discuss immigration policy proposals, plans for border security, and policies to assist immigrants who have established homes in the nation. She claimed that this strategy worked under former US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
The future of immigration policy may be affected by the change in how Democrats talk about the border, though. Democrats reacted to the tough immigration enforcement measures the Trump administration pursued, provoking a reaction from them. Some Democrats now contend that the party should change its position, which is that legal immigration reform and border security should not be inextricably linked. However, that strategy might turn off progressive and Latino voters.
” I would hope that Democrats realize that despite all the controversy surrounding the border, people care about pathways to citizenship for immigrants who have been here for many years,” said Beatriz Lopez, the deputy director of The Immigration Hub.
Most Democrats, including Gallego and Allred, still express support for that kind of immigration reform. But what’s different is that Democrats also see the necessity of talking about their border policy proposals, said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat.
The Republicans have been told for so long that the border is dangerous and out of control, according to Cuellar, who is leading the House Democrats for Border Security. Democrats should also have a narrative about border security,” I believe it’s important.” We care about border security”.
