“Illegals” and “criminals”: ​​politicization of migration will mark presidential debate

Immigration will have a central role in the first presidential face-to-face of this campaign between the US president, Joe Biden, and the former Republican president. donald trumpbut the importance of that debate could be muddied by simplifications that call for “close the border” or they cross out all the migrants of “criminals”, something that the conservative has taken to the extreme.

At the meeting, which will be broadcast on June 27 on CNN, the current American leader arrives after issuing an immigration relief measure and after an executive order that limited asylum and, in the words of the White House, “closed the border”. One of lime and another of sand, after failing in an attempt to obtain a bipartisan agreement in Congress.

Biden He announced an executive order on June 4 to restrict asylum applications, in what is the harshest immigration measure so far in his mandate.

The initiative, which came into force on the same day as the announcement, allows US authorities to deport those who do not comply with strict asylum requirements when the figure of 2,500 daily detentions is exceeded for an average of seven days.

End all Biden policies

Trump has been extremely critical of the immigration policy of Biden and it is to be expected that he will repeat his proposals such as the “mass deportation” of migrants or generally link crime with immigration.

“I will end any and all open border policies of the Biden Administration“, has promised the Republican, who has also warned that he will close the border with Mexico on his first day in office and will order “the largest deportation of criminals in history”.

putting distance

The Democrat is likely to again depart from the former Republican president’s policies to regulate immigration. “I will never demonize immigrants. I will never refer to them as a poison in the blood of our country“he said recently in reference to his rival.

By contrast, trump He will surely use criminal cases in which the accused suspects are foreigners as a political battlehorse again. At a rally this weekend he mentioned the murder last week in Texas of Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, for which two Venezuelans who recently entered the country were arrested, and also referred to four other investigations to which they are linked. immigrants.

Biden has come out against Republican criticism. Last Tuesday he acknowledged that the patience and good will of the American people “are being tested” for his fears about the border, and accused Trump of taking advantage of those tragedies to dehumanize immigrants.

The president also expects criticism from his rival for his program to protect nearly half a million undocumented spouses of American citizens.

But Biden He has already practiced his response on his immigration proposal. “I’m not interested in playing politics with the border or immigration. I am interested in fixing it“he said last Tuesday at the White House.

Change of posture

In a stronger tone, Biden warned that the United States could “embrace immigration”, securing the border and providing legal pathways for immigrants to citizenship, something that has been stuck in Congress for a decade.

Trump has only abandoned radical positions when last week he promised that, if he returned to the White House, he would grant automatic permanent residence (‘green card’) to those immigrants who graduate from college.

“What I want to do and what I will do is that if you graduate from a university I believe that you should automatically obtain, as part of your diploma, a ‘green card’ to be able to remain in this country.”, he expressed for the “All-In” podcast.

A Gallup poll in February found that immigration became the issue of greatest concern to Americans with 55% saying that “the large number of immigrants entering the United States illegally” are a critical threat to the vital interests of the country.

A University of Florida poll released last month found that 77% of registered voters favor more agents and physical barriers along the southern US border.

IT MAY INTEREST YOU