Additional Coverage:
- DNC speakers to address immigration tonight as party embraces tougher border measures (newsbreak.com)
A group of speakers at the Democratic National Convention are set to delve into immigration issues and border security measures this Wednesday. According to Harris campaign officials who spoke with CBS News, this move aims to tackle what is perceived as a significant weakness for the Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris in the current electoral cycle.
These speakers, including Democratic legislators with a focus on immigration and the sheriff from a Texas county near the U.S.-Mexico border, plan to advocate for a bipartisan border security agreement established earlier in the year. This deal, which proposes substantial restrictions on asylum claims and allocates funding for thousands of new Border Patrol and immigration enforcement personnel, is expected to be a focal point of the discussions.
Accusations are also anticipated against former President Donald Trump, whom they claim has politicized immigration issues by encouraging GOP lawmakers to oppose the bipartisan policy agreement. This agreement ultimately failed in Congress due to lack of sufficient Republican backing. The speakers are also expected to criticize Trump’s anti-immigrant stance, emphasizing his contentious campaign vows, such as the large-scale deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants.
Among those speaking on the topic are Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut, who played a leading role in negotiating the border security deal, and Representative Tom Suozzi from New York, who has countered Republican criticisms in his district by adopting moderate positions on immigration. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, Representative Pete Aguilar of California—the highest-ranking Latino in Congress—, and social media influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina are also scheduled to speak.
The discussion comes as Democrats seek to strengthen their immigration stance in response to attacks from Republicans and Trump. The latter has used the high levels of illegal border crossings under the Biden administration to spotlight the issue for the upcoming 2024 elections. Trump plans to visit an Arizona border area soon, providing direct opposition to the DNC’s messaging.
Recent surveys, including a CBS News poll, suggest that immigration is a weak issue for the Biden-Harris administration, with voters viewing Trump as more effective in managing migrant crossings at the southern border. Critics have targeted Harris for the increasing border crossings, dubbing her a “border czar,” a title she was not officially assigned. Harris’s role has instead been to handle diplomatic efforts addressing the root causes of migration from Central America, despite her more liberal 2020 campaign promises, such as decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
On the campaign trail, Harris has been repositioning herself as a strong proponent of border security, promising to revive the bipartisan agreement and advocate for a pathway to citizenship for long-standing undocumented immigrants. Her campaign advertisements have also highlighted her past actions against international gangs and her support for increasing Border Patrol personnel.
Recent trends show a sharp decline in illegal border crossings, dropping for the fifth consecutive month to the lowest level since September 2020, attributed to a recent executive order by President Biden that partially suspended asylum processing, extreme summer temperatures, and Mexico’s efforts to curb migration towards the U.S.
This shift is mirrored in the Democrats’ latest party platform, which now endorses stricter asylum processes—a significant pivot from the 2020 platform, which focused on expanding protections and criticized Trump’s immigration policies as excessively harsh. The 2024 platform advocates for swiftly deporting economic migrants and recommends that Congress enhance requirements for asylum claims, suggesting that the President should have the authority to halt processing asylum claims when systems are overwhelmed.