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After the chaotic first debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, much of the attention turned to Trump repeatedly interrupting his opponent. But another conversation was also made public on Twitter: Where were the immigration questions?
Activists always want their issue to receive prolonged attention from the moderator and candidates, but the marginalization of immigration in the general election showdown has been noteworthy, after the issue was central to Trump’s candidacy four years ago. years and was raised repeatedly during the Democratic primary.
A primary culprit has clearly been the pandemic, which has caused voters to focus on their own health and finances, as well as those of their family, amid a severe economic recession.
“It speaks to the severity of the way the pandemic has been handled that an issue like immigration has disappeared from the headlines,” he added. 60 minutes Correspondent Enrique Acevedo said Newsweek.
But he may also no longer be the club he once was for the president, Acevedo said, with the majority of voters supporting immigration reform, rejecting family separation and understanding its value to the nation at a time when essential workers they are putting their lives at risk.
A Washington Post column titled “Trump has shifted the country to the left, or at least away from his own views,” stressed Acevedo’s point.
“Nearly eight in 10 Americans (77 percent) now think immigration is good for the country, the highest proportion since Gallup began asking this question two decades ago,” wrote Catherine Rampell. “Also, the proportion of Americans who say they want an increase in immigration outnumbers those who want it to be reduced, the first time this has been the case since Gallup began asking in the 1960s.”
Other Democrats and immigration advocates come to the same place about the lack of immigration discourse but in a different way.
Immigration was heavily litigated during the Democratic primaries, they say, noting that Julian Castro incorporated the idea of decriminalizing border crossings, a position that Biden never supported, sparking criticism of his centrist approach to immigration during the primaries, but left it. in a better position to deal with Trump in the fall.
Immigration didn’t go away completely, sources said NewsweekBut even though it is no longer the president’s main theme in the election campaign, he continues to quietly implement anti-immigrant policies on a weekly basis.
“They’re not using it as a campaign theme, a red meat kind of thing, but they’ve adopted a ‘We only have so much time to end immigration and enact as much pain as possible, so we’re going to do raids.’ “focus,” said Jessica Morales Rocketto, executive director of Care in Action, which leads election campaigns for 2.5 million domestic workers.
The White House announced immigration raids before Election Day. The Supreme Court also announced Monday that it will take two cases related to the diversion of $ 2.5 billion in Pentagon funds by the Trump administration to build a wall along the southern border and the controversial Remain in Mexico policy that it has forced 60,000 asylum seekers to be excluded. United States while they wait.
That means there is enough pertinent news to lead to questions on immigration from NBC News debate moderator Kristen Welker, whose topics include “national security,” which some hope could include immigration.
Activists say immigration affects many parts of American life and argue that immigration as a national security issue is a “right wing talking point,” but say Biden should be inclined to discuss his view of immigration because the contrast between his plans and Trump’s. .
“There is no reason for me to be afraid, the math doesn’t confirm it,” said Morales Rocketto. “He motivates white voters and voters of color, and there is a good contrast. Anything that isn’t a full hug means he doesn’t understand where we are right now.”
Ali Noorani, chairman of the non-partisan National Immigration Forum, who has worked with religious, law enforcement and business groups on immigration reform, said the way forward for Biden is the message about how immigrants strengthen the economy even amidst the pandemic.
“What has swallowed 2020 is COVID-19, but what keeps the American economy going are immigrants,” he said. Newsweek. “We have been led to believe that the place where immigrants and immigration are discussed is in a context of national security. But when 40 percent of food packers are foreign born and 22 percent of healthcare workers are foreign born, we should be talking about immigration in the context of the COVID-19 response and recovery. “
In this context, Trump would have to consider the Department of Homeland Security classifying farmworkers as essential, Noorani argued, and Biden would have to talk about his vision for the future of legal immigration beyond undoing the worst of the country’s policies. Trump.
The Trump campaign also welcomes a discussion on immigration, saying Trump has delivered on his promise with hundreds of miles of border wall, “most of it where only superficial barriers existed previously.” He also said he won the backing of the National Border Patrol Council, “which represents the brave border agents of CBP, the federal government’s most Hispanic agency.”
The campaign described Biden as indebted to the liberal ideas that his fellow Democrats championed during the primaries.
“Joe Biden won’t use the term, but he clearly proposes open borders,” said senior adviser Steve Cortes. Newsweek. “Her running mate, Kamala Harris, wants to decriminalize illegal border crossing. Biden offers generous incentives for trespassers, including taxpayer-funded health care and amnesty. These policies would effectively vaporize our border.”
But activists said it is the former vice president who now has the upper hand on immigration.
Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), was appointed to the Biden Unity Task Force by Senator Bernie Sanders, and served as Co-Chair of Immigration.
NILC’s Immigrant Justice Fund is focused on reaching 130,000 persuasive Latina and white women in Arizona, North Carolina and Wisconsin. The work has shown Hincapie that Trump’s attacks on immigrants don’t resonate the way they used to, and persuasive voters are “starving” for a different view of America.
If Welker doesn’t mention immigration, Biden should, Hincapie said.
“He has a history of portraying immigrants as a strength for this nation, he believes at their core,” he said, citing research that showed pro-immigrant messages focused on an economy that works for everyone substantially increased support. . “You should lean on immigrants, not just immigration, as part of our nation, whether you’re talking about the weather or the economy, whether it’s in the debate or on the road.”
JIM WATSON and SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty
