Unlike in 2020 when the pandemic was the key issue on many people’s minds, immigration is likely to feature prominently in the 2024 U.S. presidential election campaign, representing a potential weak spot for President Joe Biden, who in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week trailed former president Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, by an astonishing nine points.
The recent surge in apprehensions of people unlawfully crossing the United States’ southern border has reinforced the perception among many Americans that Biden’s more “humane” immigration policies have been a failure.
A record-breaking number of migrant encounters (2.38 million apprehensions and expulsions) in 2022 has led to charges that security at the southern border is out of control. Some news reports indicate that authorities in Texas and Arizona border towns have been overwhelmed by the surge in migrants, fuelled by growing numbers of Venezuelans, Cubans and Haitians seeking asylum.
If re-elected, Trump has vowed to double down on the tough immigration policies of his first term, including sending thousands of overseas-based troops to the U.S.-Mexican border. He also plans to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, restore previous asylum restrictions (the Title 42 health order, for example) and curtail legal immigration by reducing access for prospective immigrants based on ideology, wealth, health and country of origin (not just for Muslims).
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