Trump tightens immigration and races ahead of the 2024 elections

But in a twist from his first presidential bid, Trump is now making explicit that illegal immigrants will disproportionately hurt African American and Latinx workers, in a move aimed at convincing minority voters to support Democrats in the election. to abandon.

On Friday, his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, will make a long-awaited trip to the border, and Trump has repeatedly broached the subject of immigration in the lead-up, culminating in a freewheeling news conference at Trump Tower in New York. York City on Thursday afternoon.

At a rally in Savannah, Georgia earlier this week, where Trump announced his manufacturing proposals, the former president spent some time discussing immigrants illegally entering the United States at the southern border.

“Medicines are now entering our border about ten times. We talk about the illegal migrants, but the drugs are pouring in. Fentanyl is flowing,” he warned.

At a rally in Mint Hill, North Carolina, the next day, where he campaigned on the economy, Trump veered away from tackling the topic again by excoriating Harris.

“The invasion of migrants in Kamala is having an especially devastating impact on the Black community and the Hispanic community,” Trump said. “The jobs are going to illegal immigrants who came into our country illegally, our black population across the country, our Hispanic population is losing their jobs.”

The comments follow his previous comments at the first presidential debate against President Joe Biden, where he claimed migrants were taking away “black jobs.”

Immigration remains important to voters

Immigration is one of the two most important issues, along with the economy. Voters have consistently indicated that this is important to how they will vote. A recent Scripps News-Ipsos poll found that 59% of adults are closely monitoring immigration at the southern border, while 33% said securing the border was their top immigration priority.

The poll also found that 44% of respondents believed Trump would handle immigration better, which was 10 points higher than the 34% of those who said Harris would do a better job.

In Arizona, a border state and a key battleground, Trump has an even bigger advantage: 41% say he would handle immigration better, 13 points more than the 28% who said Harris would do a better job.

Trump’s lead over Harris may have a lot to do with his repeated criticism of Harris as Biden’s “border czar,” a title the vice president has disputed.

Harris will travel to Douglas, Arizona, on Friday, which Trump decried during his Thursday news conference and pointed to the increase in unauthorized border crossings.

‘She’s going there tomorrow; after almost four years, she’s going there tomorrow to try to show what a great job she’s done,” Trump claimed. “But even now the numbers are terrible. And don’t forget: they’re flying people over and they haven’t stopped that.”

He again reiterated his claims that illegal immigration is hurting minority voters. “All these people coming in are terrible for the black population and the Hispanic population,” he said.

Harris will discuss border security during her trip, along with her support for the bipartisan border security plan that Trump has pressured Senate Republicans to reject, according to a campaign aide who requested anonymity to discuss a trip still in progress. the plan is in place.

The vice president will likely discuss her record as a former attorney general in California, prosecuting international gangs and criminal organizations, and call out the several mayors of Arizona border towns who have supported her campaign.

Immigration gave Trump a boost in 2016

Fanning negative resentment against immigrants greatly helped Trump during the 2016 Republican primaries before he became president, academic studies have shown, and helped him again during the 2024 primary season, exit polls showed.

“The short-sighted focus on immigration is definitely an advantage for the Trump campaign. He was able to talk about the issue in a clear and concise way and provide a solution,” said national Republican strategist Brian Seitchik during Trump’s 2016 election campaign. “He boiled it down to three words: ‘ Build the wall.’ It said it all.”

The former president claims he will carry out mass deportations to reduce illegal immigration, limit the number of migrant asylum seekers through the “Remain in Mexico” policy, complete construction of the southern border and his controversial travel ban, which is pushing people out countries with a majority Muslim population.

Harris has repeatedly blasted Trump’s immigration policies as unrealistic and blamed Trump for overturning the bipartisan border bill in an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday.

During an appearance at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute conference last week, Harris also praised her bipartisan approach to the issue.

“We must also reform our broken immigration system and protect our DREAMers and understand that we can do both,” Harris said. “Create an earned path to citizenship and ensure our border is secure. We can do both. And we have to do both.”

The Haitian Migrant Controversy

Republican strategists see immigration policy as a major success for Trump, but they warned that his embrace of false rumors that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, ate animals was a distraction from the attack on Harris.

“I think among Republicans and independents, immigration is probably one of two slam-dunk issues and cases for Trump,” said Matt Dole, a Republican political consultant based in Ohio, who also warned that Trump should not run in their presidential primary. Harris’ downfall would fall on the issue of immigration. debate this month.

“I believe the president took the bait in the debate with Vice President Harris, who didn’t want to talk about immigration because her record on immigration is terrible,” Dole said. “It’s not the most effective thing to talk about cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, whether it’s true, whether it’s not true, whether it’s rumor. What should be talked about in Springfield, Ohio is the Biden administration giving benefits to migrants instead of solving the immigration crisis.”

During the debate in Philadelphia, Trump revived false claims that Haitian immigrants ate animals, prompting a correction from moderator David Muir. “In Springfield they eat the dogs, people who came in, they eat the cats. They eat – they eat the pets of the people who live there, and this is what is happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”

The comments largely distract from addressing the border crises and desperately needed immigration reform, GOP strategists and experts told the Washington Examiner. Trump should focus on the big picture and pin current failures on Harris, they say.

“The focus on immigration is right now, but it’s not as clear or concise,” Seitchik said before pointing to the tens of thousands of voters in battleground states who will decide the election. “I don’t think the former president’s current discussion on immigration, in its current form, does anything to win over college-educated suburban women in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit, because that’s the game here .”

The controversy erupted in Congress this week when Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) posted and deleted a post calling Haitian migrants “savage” and “thugs,” prompting Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (D- NV), to introduce a resolution asking the Louisiana legislature.

Steven Hilding, a Republican strategist from Nevada, argued that Trump has made more of an effort to reach minority voters, pointing to his speech at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia earlier this year and even reaching Polish voters in Pennsylvania.

But Hilding said, “Trump needs to attack the immigration issue from everywhere.”

“Trump has a pretty good selling point here,” he continued. “I’m showing the vulnerabilities of the Biden Harris administration, and now specifically Harris…I know Trump got a lot of flak for saying they’re hiring black jobs. But it’s not just black jobs or Hispanic jobs; illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from all Americans.”

Republican strategists argue that minority voters are being harmed by illegal immigration

The increase in illegal immigration is disproportionately affecting minorities, said Jeremy Beck, vice president of NumbersUSA, a group that advocates reducing immigration levels.

“The biggest impact is on the less educated, the two-thirds of Americans who do not have a college degree, and disproportionately black and Hispanic Americans,” Beck said. “Of course this affects all Americans. White Americans probably make up the largest number, but Black and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately affected.”

He also singled out black descendants of slaves, claiming that there is data showing that when immigration increases, their wages stagnate, while Hispanic workers are “the group most likely to be in direct competition with the next wave of immigrants and thus their opportunities under come under pressure.” most of it too.”

The current unemployment rate for black workers is 6.1%, 5.5% for Hispanic workers and 3.8% for white workers, according to a September press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2022, the country’s foreign-born population reached a record 46.1 million, with 23%, or 11 million, in the U.S. illegally, according to the Pew Research Center. That same year, the average unemployment rate for African Americans was 6.1%, 4.3% for Hispanic/Latinos and 3.2% for white Americans, according to the BLS.

Beck called for a better immigration system that “reduces numbers to a point where both Americans and immigrants can thrive and communities do not need to be overwhelmed” as an important step to increasing support for immigration.

The Trump campaign, however, does not appear to be moving away from linking immigration to the economic concerns of minority voters.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINATOR

“Black voters are frustrated that Democrats continue to prioritize the interests of illegal immigrants over our own Black Americans born in this country – pouring millions of their hard-earned tax dollars into immigrant shelters instead of investing in Black communities, Janiyah Thomas, the campaign’s black media director, said in a statement.

“Latinos support immigration policies that allow for the orderly and legal entry and formalization of immigrants into the United States,” Jaime Florez, Hispanic communications director for the campaign and the Republican National Committee, said in a statement. “Consequently, they do not agree with the fact that more than ten million people have crossed the border illegally and will significantly delay the bureaucratic processes of those who did comply with the laws.”