Despite their different approaches, some see the two leading presidential candidates as aligned on border policy, with Vice President Harris offering some of the most restrictive proposals by a Democrat in decades. he points out with surprise.
Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson and Sheila Craighead
Left: Vice President Harris at the U.S.-Mexico border in September. Right: Former President Trump stands in front of the border fence in California in 2019.
With less than two weeks until the presidential election, immigration is dominating the news cycle and giving people plenty to talk about through government policy, racism, misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies.
The two leading presidential candidates, former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, address this topic almost daily. They have issued statements, and sometimes detailed plans, about border security, policies that affect the immigrant population currently in the country, and how they will deal with the new arrivals expected to arrive in the future. Ta.
Neither side responded to City Limits’ questions about their immigration plans, but here’s some of what they’ve said publicly and what supporters and experts think of their plans. Introducing.
“Xenophobia and racism”
Of the two candidates, Republican nominee Trump’s agenda is the easiest to summarize. His two core promises are to deport those already in the country without documents and to “close the border” to those who dare to enter.
Additionally, President Trump has contradicted the idea that the United States is a “nation of immigrants,” with inflation, a lack of affordable housing, rising crime rates, low wages, and a lack of disaster relief funding. , and economic instability. He baselessly claims that non-citizens will vote illegally in the upcoming election and that immigrants with “bad genes” are committing murders.
On October 11, President Trump traveled to Aurora, Colorado, and gave a nearly 90-minute speech filled with extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric. He said if re-elected, he would implement an effort called “Operation Aurora” to detain and deport illegal immigrants accused of crimes under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. It has only been used three times, all during wartime.
The 2024 Republican Party Platform states, “We will also invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug traffickers, and cartel members from the United States and eliminate illegal alien gang violence.” We will put an end to this scourge once and for all.”
According to Rolling Stone, Mr. Trump and his allies will view Latin American cartels and gangs as entities that have exploited and corrupted governments to the point that they can be considered foreign or state actors under the law.
“Xenophobia and racism will be the test of American immigration policy, and mass deportations will tear apart families, communities, and the foundations of our country,” said Maribel, director of Border, Immigration Policy and Government Affairs at the ACLU.・Mr. Hernández Rivera emphasized. When discussing Trump’s plans.
A September poll found that a majority of the public supports the concept of mass deportations, but the logistics of such projects are questionable and the potential costs could be significant. be. Advocates say the mere thought of it adds to the chilling effect on immigrant communities.
“One way to think about the impact of large-scale deportations and widespread restrictions on immigration is the impact on industry after industry, including farms, restaurants, health care, child care, and construction,” said David, Director of Immigration Research.・Dessegaard Karik said. initiative. “But in reality, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Sheila Craighead’s Casa Blanca Official Photo
President Donald J. Trump speaks at the border wall near the Texas-Mexico border on January 12, 2021.
Beyond the deportation advocacy, President Trump has reinstated many of the same policies from his first term, including building a border wall, a “remain in Mexico” policy, a travel ban (but also including Gaza refugees), and asylum restrictions. He said he plans to do so. . President Trump also wants to eliminate birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents.
Hernandez Rivera added: “We cannot understate the harm that a second term of President Trump will cause to immigrants.”
Such a policy is likely to provoke significant local opposition. There were dozens of protests against the former president’s immigration policies in New York City in 2017, and it was the most-attended immigration-related public action of the year, according to New Yorkers for Parks.
Immigrants make up about 38 percent of the city’s total population, or just over 3 million people, according to the most recent city data, of which about 13 percent are in the country illegally.
focus on boundaries
Despite their different approaches, many see the two major presidential candidates as aligned on border policy, with Vice President Harris offering the most restrictive proposal by a Democratic candidate in decades. He points out with surprise that some of the suggestions were made.
Harris vowed to maintain President Joe Biden’s asylum restrictions after a trip to the border this fall. Restrictive measures came into force in June and have reduced the number of border crossings.
Within months of taking the oath of office, President Biden nominated Harris to lead diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration in the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). Shortly after, during a trip to Guatemala, Harris told locals not to immigrate to the United States.
“I want to emphasize that the goal of our work is to help Guatemalans find hope in their homeland,” she told those gathered at the 2021 press conference. “At the same time, I want to be clear to people in this region: If you’re thinking of making the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border, don’t come. Don’t come.”
Some supporters say they want policies that fix the immigration system instead.
“Poll after poll shows that voters want a balanced and humane approach to immigration,” said Hernández Rivera. “This includes passing policies such as increasing the number of staff.”
Hernández Rivera said that if Harris were elected president, “the Harris administration would create new policies on immigration that would harm immigrants by closing the door on people who are putting their lives at risk. We must reject policies that divide our communities.”
Colleen Putzel Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, co-authored an analysis of the candidates’ consensus positions in late September.
“While I think there is some agreement on both sides that the Southwest border needs to be managed differently, or that the tools currently available are not successful in achieving a managed border, “How you make that happen is completely different,” she explained.
According to Harris’ website, she acknowledges that the immigration system is “broken” and requires “comprehensive reform,” including “strong border security and a path to citizenship.”
However, few details are known about how to gain a path to citizenship.
“From what I understand… there are some conditions that have to be met and some things that you have to do if you are currently in the country illegally. Once we get a permit, we will eventually be able to apply for citizenship,” Karik explained.
But “the problem is, this requires action from Congress.” Immigration reform hasn’t been passed in over 40 years.
On Oct. 10, at a town hall hosted by Univision, a tearful voter told Harris the story of her mother, who passed away a few weeks earlier and was unable to get the medical care she needed because of her immigration status. .
“What’s your plan?” the woman, Yvette Castillo, asked Harris. “Or do you have a plan to help some, or even most, of the immigrants who have to stay here all their lives, living in the shadows and dying in the shadows?”
After offering her condolences, Harris spoke about how the 2021 U.S. Citizenship Act, which includes immigration reforms announced by the Biden administration after taking office, has fallen apart.
“And this is an example of the fact that there are real people who are suffering because politics can’t provide solutions,” Harris said. Shortly after, she turned to borders and politics.
“Related to what we need to do to strengthen our borders, a bipartisan group of senators, including one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate, has proposed the strongest border security bill ever.” “I put together one of them several decades later,” Harris said.
Official White House Photo: Lawrence Jackson
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Border Patrol agents during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Arizona on September 27, 2024.
The vice president was referring to the bipartisan border security bill he supports. It failed to advance in Congress earlier this year, despite Harris calling the wall “stupid” and providing more resources to stop fentanyl and other drugs. It would have added more officials to the border and allocated funding to continue construction of the border wall. How to use money” (2017)
“As president, she will restore and sign the bipartisan border security bill into law,” Harris’ campaign website says.
So far, the vice president has not laid out a specific policy for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, whose fate is currently being considered in a federal appeals court.
The DACA program was created during the Obama administration to give certain immigrants who came here as children protection from deportation and the ability to work. The program has been under intense scrutiny from Republicans, who are leading a repeal campaign through a coalition of Republican attorneys general. that.
The program remains in legal limbo, but a 2021 ruling bars the Department of Homeland Security from processing new applications and only current DACA recipients can apply for renewal to maintain protection. I did it like that.
“I would like to hear more from Ms. Harris about the important role that immigrants play in the United States, especially in the economy,” Dessegaard-Caric said. “Immigrants are small business owners, provide critical services and support so many industries.”
To contact the reporter for this story, please contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To contact the editor, please contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org.
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