President Joe Biden faces a dilemma. And how he responds to it may determine whether he’s re-elected in 2024. On the one hand, he has young voters and Latinos of all ages who supported him in 2020 and want him to fulfill his day-one promise of immigration reform. On the other hand, there’s a recent poll showing that almost two-thirds of U.S. adults think Biden “should be tougher” on immigrants crossing the border.
Republicans are being told by former President Donald Trump to let the issue get worse so that Trump can use it against Biden in November.
Though he seems inclined to address the issue in ways Republicans would prefer, those Republicans are being told by former President Donald Trump to let the issue get worse so that Trump can use it against Biden in November. Reports of GOP infighting might make for good political headlines, but it’s hard to believe that Republicans will suddenly challenge Trump to give Biden a political victory. It’s a lose-lose situation.
Bill Clinton faced a similar situation in 1996, and his decision to get tough on the border set the country on a path it remains on today. Recent remarks from Biden indicate that he’ll likely follow the same Clinton playbook in an attempt to attract more moderate, independent and Republican voters.
“I believe we need significant policy changes at the border, including changes in our asylum system to ensure that we have authorities we need to control the border,” Biden told a group of mayors this month. To slow down Trump on this specific issue, Biden’s strategy appears to be to try to out-Republican the Republicans.
That strategy has already angered the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
“We’re going to hurt immigrant communities and a progressive base that needs to see a difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on immigration,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, explained earlier this month when news of a potential…
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