At the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump and Harris’ data reflect the national mood of less immigration, not more

by William McCorkle, College of Charleston

In late July 2024, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris released a campaign ad about the US-Mexico border that looked like something out of the Republican playbook.

In the ad, Harris said that as president she would increase the number of Border Patrol agents, stop human traffickers and prosecute transnational gangs — the very things Republican candidate Donald Trump has also pledged to do if elected.

Harris’ shift to the right is seen by her campaign strategists as a good political move and reflects the more anti-immigrant direction the American population has taken in recent years. According to a July 2024 Gallup Poll, 55% of Americans wanted higher immigration restrictions, marking the first time in nearly two decades that a majority of Americans supported such restrictions.

These anti-immigrant attitudes are partly due to exaggerated claims by conservative politicians and right-wing pundits that management of the US-Mexico border is a disaster and that the government is endangering public safety by allowing violent criminals to enter the US to come.

Even worse, during the presidential debate on September 10, 2024, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating dogs and cats.

As someone who has worked extensively with asylum seekers at the border since 2019, I see clear differences between Harris and Trump on immigration.

During his time in office, Trump instituted restrictive immigration policies at the border that virtually halted asylum. He also backed the controversial child separation policy in 2018 and tried to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the Obama-era federal program that prevents hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from , are deported.

While Harris’ record on immigration is not as extensive as Trump’s, as a U.S. senator and vice president she has shown a willingness to be more restrictive at the border while continuing to support a path to citizenship for “dreamers” and undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

Trump’s extremist rhetoric and policies

Given that border security has become his signature issue, Trump could take even more draconian measures than he did during his first term, including further restricting the asylum system and deporting as many as 20 million undocumented immigrants.

Perhaps Trump’s most controversial action during his first term was his child separation policy in 2018, which resulted in more than 5,000 children being taken from their parents after being apprehended at the border. This action led to nationwide protests and international condemnation. As of May 2024, approximately 1,400 children remained separated from their families.

Undeterred, Trump pursued other restrictive policies.

Trump signed an executive order in 2019 launching the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico policy. This order required asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border to be returned to Mexico while their claims were processed. This program remained in place until the end of Trump’s presidency in 2020 and led to 81,000 deportations.

Trump also used Title 42 restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic to quickly deport migrants without visas to contain the pandemic without exceptions. Nearly 200,000 migrants were expelled in the first seven months.

Notably, the use of violent rhetoric against migrants has increased dramatically during Trump’s rise as leader of the Republican Party. During his first term, Trump and his officials discussed shooting migrants crossing the border in the leg. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, one of his key allies, said the reason officials there are not shooting migrants is because they would be charged by the federal government.

Trump has also promised that he would be willing to deploy the US military in Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Harris’ balancing act

As a U.S. senator, Harris voted against an anti-sanctuary city amendment in 2019 that would have allowed local police to cooperate with federal immigration officials and potentially deport immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

She was also the first sponsor of legislation that would limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions against those caring for unaccompanied minors. But as attorney general of California, Harris favored turning over minors who were living in the U.S. illegally and had committed crimes to immigration authorities.

As vice president, Harris appears to support a more restrictive approach, similar to that of Biden’s June 4, 2024 executive order, which limited the number of asylum seekers allowed to cross the border.

She also supports the CBP One app system developed by the Biden administration in early 2023.

In that process, asylum seekers are given the chance to meet with an immigration officer, but often have to wait for months in dangerous conditions in Mexico.

Harris has also consistently spoken out about the need to support DACA. The Biden administration expanded health care coverage to DACA recipients in 2024, giving them access to insurance through the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

If Harris is elected, he would likely extend another of Biden’s 2024 executive orders, which created a legal path to citizenship for immigrants who do not have legal permission to stay in the U.S. but are married to U.S. citizens.

In stark contrast, Trump has already criticized the policy and said he would end it if elected.

The Biden-Harris administration also had a nuanced record on the border and deportations. They have deported almost the same number of immigrants living in the US without legal permission as Trump.

By June 2024, the number of deportations since the start of the Biden administration in January 2021 had already reached 4.4 million. At the same time, these higher numbers reflect the fact that more people are coming to the border because of the greater opportunities for entry.

During the first three years of Biden’s presidency, more than 1 million migrants at the border were granted temporary humanitarian parole, allowing them to remain in the US while awaiting their asylum hearings.

The reality of immigration

Immigration is largely portrayed as a clear and present threat by Republicans, or as an act of compassion by Democrats.

However, in the increasingly anti-immigrant environment, you will rarely hear that increased immigration under the Biden-Harris administration has been a major factor in U.S. economic growth.

In fact, many economists have argued that working-class immigrants coming from across the border have helped reduce inflation. I am convinced that the US needs more migrants, not fewer, and that harsh positions and policies are damaging our society and economy.

While Trump’s tough stance on immigrants, both at the border and in the country, is well known, Harris’ record shows a more balanced approach that has provided support for at least some immigrants living in the U.S. illegally — and to those seeking asylum. .

William McCorkle, assistant professor of education, College of Charleston

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.