Contrary to the expectations of both Democrats and Republicans, the hottest of the hot-button issues for the upcoming 2024 presidential election has turned out to be immigration rather than abortion. President Joe Biden finds himself in quandary. As a Democrat he is expected to promote a liberal position on the issue. As a candidate aspiring to a second term, he can see that the nation’s sentiment has shifted away from such liberalism.
Immigration is the topic that is being hammered every day in the media, especially by Republicans who have successfully brought it to the fore, whipped up recently by governor Greg Abbott who is not only building barriers of razor wire across the border, but establishing a forward operation military base to patrol it, thereby challenging the Constitution on the issue of state versus federal rights and who has the ultimate authority over national security.
At the other end of the country, we have Mayor Eric Adams who, although a Democrat, is engaged in a feud with President Biden on the issue of fiscal responsibility for the expenses of hosting “asylum seekers.” Adams launches dire predictions.
“Let me tell you something New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to — I don’t see an ending to this,” the mayor said on Wednesday night in his opening remarks at a town hall-style gathering in Manhattan. “This issue will destroy New York City.”
Adams blames President Biden and Gov. Kathy Hochul for abandoning the city in its time of crisis and has repeatedly pleaded for additional funding and a change in policies, particularly the one on expedited work permits.
In his 2020 campaign, Joe Biden promised to roll back former President Donald Trump ’s harsher immigration policies, specifically that of setting limits on the number of asylum seekers accepted each day at the southern border. Now the border is being overwhelmed and so Biden has had to modify his position.
This year, moving considerably to the right of his 2020 position, he backed a Senate proposal that would have set daily limits on border crossings, but surprisingly, despite Democratic support, it was the Republicans who scuttled the deal. The reason? It’s in their interest to be the party that is tough on immigration. If Biden jumps on board, they would lose their principal advantage in the 2024 campaign.
However, hoping to profit from the Republican turnaround, Democrats have seen an opening and they are reframing the immigration debate, going from embracing more welcoming policies in response to the Trump administration’s programs at the border — including the controversial policy of the separation of hundreds of immigrant children from their parents — to declaring that they can get tough on border security and adopt policies long supported by Republicans.
Biden’s rhetorical shift away from the Democratic liberal position on immigration may lose him the support of the left, but a shift to the center may be the successful path for 2024, as was evidenced by the victory of Democrat Tom Suozzi, a centrist, in the special election that was held in the increasingly purple New York District 3—covering parts of Queens and Long Island– to replace the ousted Republican, George Santos.
Suozzi ran ads calling for more border security and featuring an interview he did on Fox News in which he supported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The strategy played well.
Suozzi also shares Biden’s position on creating a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrants referred to as “Dreamers,” who are in the country illegally after coming to the U.S. with their families as children.
Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist, said, “We need to lean into this and not just on border security, but, yes, tough border security coupled with increased legal pathways.”
Underscoring the Republican’s deliberate scuttling of the proposed bipartisan deal, she added, “They tried it the Republican way, and Republicans were not serious about that.”
Biden’s pragmatic shift did not endear him to immigration liberals. More than 130 organizations from around the country sent a letter to Biden opposing the tougher standards for asylum. Some immigration activists expressed their disappointment at a recent gathering of more than a dozen advocacy groups in Arizona. Their support for Biden’s candidacy has weakened.
A spokesman for Biden’s campaign, Kevin Munoz, made the President’s position crystal clear, he has moved to the right. In a statement Munoz said, “The President stands with the overwhelming majority of Americans who demand action from Washington to address our long-broken immigration system.”
Pointing fingers and appropriating the discourse, Munoz continued, “MAGA Republicans, led by Donald Trump, have opted to abdicate their responsibilities so they can demonize immigrants to score political points.”
Joe Biden will take up the cudgel and get tough on immigration.
