The cadre of speakers Democratic National Convention slated to address immigration policy and border security Friday, Harris campaign officials told CBS News, in an effort to redefine what has been viewed as the main political vulnerability for Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris in this campaign cycle.
Speakers, who include Democratic lawmakers focused on immigration policy and a sheriff from a Texas county near the US-Mexico border, are expected to embrace. bipartisan border security agreement false earlier this year that would have imposed significant restrictions on asylum and funded the hiring of thousands of additional Border Patrol agents and immigration officers.
They are planning to accuse former President Donald Trump of playing political games on immigration urged Republican lawmakers to reject border policy compromises, which collapsed in Congress without enough GOP support. At the same time, speakers are expected to paint Trump as anti-immigrant, highlighting his most controversial campaign promises, which include promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants as part of a massive deportation operation.
Those making forays into immigration include Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic negotiator on the team that brokered the border security deal; Rep. Tom Suozzi from New York, who blunted the Republican attack on immigration in the swing district of Long Island by embracing centrist stances on the issue; and Javier Salazar, sheriff of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, Texas, the Harris campaign told CBS News.
Brynn Anderson/AP
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the top Latino in Congress, and social media influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina are also scheduled to address immigration on Wednesday, the campaign added.
The plan shows that Democrats are doubling down on efforts to neutralize immigration attacks, which Republicans and Trump, citing record levels of illegal border crossings in the Biden administration, have sought to become a clear issue in the 2024 race. Trump is planning to visit nearby areas the Arizona-Mexico border to offer counter-programming to the DNC.
Surveys over the past year have shown immigration to be one of the worst polling issues for the Biden-Harris administration. A CBS News poll released earlier this week found voters believe Trump is more likely to reduce migrants crossing the southern border than Harris.
Trump and Republicans have blamed Harris for the unprecedented level of border crossings in recent years, labeling him the “border czar” of the Biden administration, although Harris has not been given that role. However, he is assigned by overseeing diplomatic efforts to address poverty, violence and other root causes of migration from Central America. He also highlighted a more liberal stance on immigration during his 2020 presidential bid, including his embrace of measures to decriminalize border crossings.
But Harris has tried to change that perception on the campaign trail. In a public meeting, he has promised to revive the bipartisan border security agreement if elected and to push to “get” a path to US citizenship for long-standing undocumented immigrants. In a new ad, Harris’ campaign touted his work going after international gangs as a prosecutor and his support for increasing the ranks of Border Patrol agents.
Unlike in previous years, Harris and the Democrats can also now point to border crossings that have fallen dramatically. In July, crossing is illegal fall for the fifth consecutive month, falling to the lowest level since September 2020. Officials attributed the large drop in migrant arrivals to a June executive action by Mr. Biden that partially suspended the asylum process, the scorching summer heat and Mexico’s efforts to slow the U.S. . – bound migration.
Harris’ efforts to portray himself as a champion of border security underscore a broader trend by most Democrats to incorporate a tougher message on border security. The party platform adopted at the DNC this week, for example, on ending asylum restrictions, is a clear departure from the more progressive immigration position of 2020.
The 2024 platform says Democrats support quickly deporting economic migrants and calls on Congress to “strengthen the requirements” for asylum claims. The president, the platform said, should have the power to “stop processing” asylum claims when “the system is overwhelmed.”
Platform 2020 does not refer to restrictions on asylum. Conversely, Democrats pledged to “protect and expand the existing asylum system and other humanitarian protections” and “end the Trump Administration’s policy of denying protected entry to asylum seekers.”
The party’s platform at the time denounced Trump-era immigration policies as “cruel, cruel, and reckless in the extreme.”
Camilo Montoya-Galvez
