Biden changes border policy

U.S. President Biden changes border security strategy amid tensions with the Texas governor and the lasting impact of Trump’s rhetoric on Americans

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised to reverse the immigration policies implemented by former President Donald Trump, particularly criticizing a policy that restricted the number of asylum-seekers allowed to enter the country each day at the southern border. 

This year, Biden supported a Senate plan that aimed to establish daily quotas for border crossings – and Democrats are gearing up to promote his reelection by highlighting that it was Republicans who caused the proposal to fail. 

Democrats are reshaping the conversation around immigration, moving from endorsing more inclusive policies in response to the Trump administration’s border initiatives – such as the separation of many immigrant children from their families – to asserting that they can be tough on border security and adopt measures long advocated by Republicans. While Biden’s change in tone may strain his backing from immigrants and their supporters who worked to get him elected in 2020, it seems to be paying off for Democrats following their victory in a special election in New York. 

“We must embrace this approach, focusing not only on border security, but also on robust border security alongside increased legal pathways,” explained Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist. “Republicans had their chance, and they were not committed to that.” 

 

Democrat Tom Suozzi, who emerged victorious in Tuesday’s special election in New York for the House seat previously held by ousted Republican Rep. George Santos, ran advertisements advocating for increased border security and highlighted an appearance on Fox News where he expressed support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

His constituency encompasses areas of Queens, a varied New York borough that has welcomed numerous migrants transported from the border. 

Suozzi also aligns with Biden’s stance on establishing a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers,” who arrived in the U.S. as children with their families.  

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat, expressed confidence that the reframing of the immigration discourse would not result in negative consequences. 

“I believe that the current situation under the Biden administration is preferable to a potential recurrence of the Trump era,” Espaillat remarked. 

However, many advocates for immigrants viewed the agreement brokered by Biden with Senate leaders as a demonstration of the President’s willingness to limit asylum opportunities in exchange for military aid to Ukraine, despite his previous criticism of Trump’s harsh border policies. 

Over 130 organizations nationwide penned a letter to Biden opposing the deal and the stricter asylum criteria. Some immigration activists at a recent gathering of advocacy groups in Arizona voiced disappointment with Biden and lacked the motivation to campaign for him. 

Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and housing secretary who ran against Biden in the 2020 presidential primaries, suggested that Biden and his supporters were embracing the rhetoric of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. 

Castro stated, “Democrats, you will never be sufficiently cruel, ‘tough,’ anti-immigrant, or deportation-oriented to engage in negotiations with McConnell and MAGA. Cease playing their game.” 

The border proposal would have introduced, for the first time, a right to legal representation for vulnerable asylum-seekers, including children aged 13 and under, and would have increased the quota of immigrant visas by 250,000 over the next five years. The National Border Patrol Council and the Chamber of Commerce endorsed the proposal. 

A spokesperson for Biden’s campaign, Kevin Munoz, affirmed, “The President aligns with the vast majority of Americans who demand action from Washington to address our dysfunctional immigration system.” He criticized MAGA Republicans, led by Trump, for shirking their responsibilities to vilify immigrants for political gain. 

Democratic interviews in Nevada, a crucial swing state in the anticipated Biden-Trump rematch in November, indicate that many in Biden’s party are rallying behind him. 

Nevada, with over 30% of its 3.1 million population identifying as Hispanic or Latino, has significant Filipino, Chinese American, and Black communities. The state boasts the highest proportion of undocumented immigrants in the workforce, as per Pew Research Center estimates. 

During a recent rally in a predominantly Latino neighborhood near the Las Vegas Strip, Trump lambasted the state of the U.S. border, labeling it as the “worst border in history” and a “weapon of mass destruction.” 

In contrast, Biden, campaigning in Nevada shortly after, focused on the enduring threat he believes Trump poses to democracy, warning of a potential “nightmare” under a second Trump term. 

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat and the sole Hispanic woman in the Senate emphasized her constituents’ desire for a structured approach to border management and comprehensive immigration reforms to protect Dreamers and individuals with temporary deportation protections. 

Cortez Masto stressed the need to address both the broken immigration system and border security to ensure safe communities, a sentiment echoed by many Nevadans, including those in the Latino community. 

Following the collapse of the border agreement, Cortez Masto hopes the public recognizes that Republicans were not seeking solutions but rather exploiting the situation for political gain. 

Michael Kagan, director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, criticized the Biden-supported proposal for veering away from what many Democrats consider essential for immigration reform. Kagan warned that Biden’s rightward shift could have negative political repercussions. 

Gabriel Aldebot, a 66-year-old union electrician from Las Vegas, emphasized the necessity of securing the border and believed that a compromise incorporating enhanced enforcement resources would be the fairest approach. He expressed his support for Biden in Nevada’s Democratic primary. 

 Source: Newsroom