Three reasons why Trump's plan to indict Harris over illegal immigration is the right call
Politically, there are three reasons why Trump is right to double down on the immigration issue as he campaigns against Vice President Kamala Harris.
It’s two weeks until Election Day and the New York Times thinks former President Trump is making a big mistake by hammering home how he’ll tackle illegal immigration. Polls, after all, show voters care more about the economy and inflation than the millions of people allowed to enter our country illegally while Kamala Harris has been the border czar.
My view: never underestimate Trump’s political instincts. Yes, Americans have been whacked by a 20%-plus increase in prices while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have occupied the White House, and surveys do show voters anxious about the economy.
But it is the 10 million or 20 million people who have been allowed to cross into and stay in our country illegally that gets crowds riled up; it is the fentanyl deaths and terror threats and the cost of undocumented people disappearing into our society that has animated the Trump candidacy ever since that famous ride down the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015. For good reason: Americans know it is wrong.
A recent Scripps News/Ipsos poll found over half of respondents, including 58% of independents and even 25% of Democrats, say they support mass deportations – an unthinkable response at any other time in our welcoming country – and that for 39%, illegal immigration is their top issue.
Politically, there are three reasons why Trump is right to double down on the issue. First, the Biden-Harris White House opened the border intentionally, ignoring the consequences until polling showed the issue might cost them the election. This was not an accident, and voters are rightly holding them responsible. Second, Vice President Harris is indelibly linked personally with having allowed this offense to the nation. Like it or not, she was popularly dubbed the "border czar" and she failed to meet the challenge. Third, if Harris becomes president, she would doubtless allow tens of millions more migrants to enter the country, increasing the dangers and costs of a swelling illegal population. After all, Harris told the hosts of "The View" that she cannot think of a single thing she would change about the past three-plus years; presumably, that includes our open border.
We cannot afford to let that happen.
Out-of-control illegal immigration has cost this country dearly, and we will be dealing with the aftermath for years to come. Blue cities like New York and Chicago have been hit with rising gang-related crime and the soaring cost of feeding and housing people who arrive unable to work here legally. These cities already have stretched budgets, thanks to high taxes, terrible schools, rampant crime and anti-business regulations that have driven individuals and businesses to flee. The last thing New York or Chicago needs is another hole in their budget.
It isn’t just large blue cities bearing the burden of the millions of new arrivals; it’s also small towns like Norfolk, Massachusetts, population 11,000, where state officials reopened an unused low-security prison to house hundreds of Haitian migrants. At a town meeting, one woman whose son had lost his health insurance, angrily cried out: "I’m an American citizen. Americans should get help first." Her voice resonates.
President Biden opened the border by issuing some 90 executive orders, like halting construction on Trump’s border wall, mostly undoing measures taken by his predecessor to curtail illegal crossings. He knew what he was doing.
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Only in the past few months has Biden finally moved to reduce the influx of migrants. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., recently told the New York Post that he had "begged" Biden to restore Trump’s "remain in Mexico" policy, which had required migrants to stay south of the border while waiting for their immigration court hearings. Putting America last, Biden demurred, explaining that "Mexico doesn’t want that." As Johnson rightly told Biden, "… you’re the president of the United States. It doesn’t matter what Mexico wants."
The obvious question is: why would any White House permit this flood of illegal migrants into the U.S.? There can be only one answer. Clearly, Biden, Harris and their party colleagues expect that over time these new arrivals will be granted a path to citizenship and will become Democratic Party voters. Every bill they have offered that supposedly deals with border security prioritizes providing that path. Democrats have uniformly voted against measures making it harder for noncitizens to vote and in some areas, like New York, have passed laws allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.
Imagine Democrats’ dismay when it turns out that Hispanics in the country legally are furious about the open border. It is their neighborhoods being wrecked by crime and their workers threatened by low-wage, off-the-books hires. They are angry that they did the hard work of coming into America legally, while undocumented migrants are being given free food and housing. A survey earlier this year of Latino voters showed 82% want a crackdown on human traffickers and drug smugglers at the southern border and 58% demand an expansion of additional Border Patrol and security funding (58%).
That’s why Donald Trump is earning a higher share of the Hispanic vote than any Republican candidate in decades. Many Hispanics blame Kamala Harris, aka the "border czar," for the mess despite the VP’s revisionist claim denying culpability. She claims she was charged with ferreting out the "root causes" on migration, and to that end implored U.S. companies to invest in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Such measures might ultimately bear fruit, but realistically have zero chance of reducing illegal immigration any time soon. She knows better.
Voters heading to the polls in coming days have a stark choice: allow Harris to open our border once again or elect Trump, who will close it immediately. As he (and Democrats historically) has repeatedly said, we want legal immigration into our country, preferably of people chosen for their potential contributions, not illegal. We will soon see if that’s what voters want, too.
