Democrats Look to Challenge Republicans on Border Security

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) departs from the Senate Chambers in the U.S. Capitol on March 14, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Months away from the November election, Democrats are looking to seize upon the traditionally Republican issue of border security as a new campaign strategy. The shift comes amid historical levels of illegal immigration via the southern border and as voters raise the issue as a top concern.

Republicans have repeatedly called on the Biden administration to close the border through executive action. However, Democrats disagree, arguing that the president does not have this authority and pointing to past presidents failing to secure the border during their terms as evidence.

Earlier this year, Senate Democrats and Republicans negotiated a bipartisan border bill, which included $20 billion in funding for border security and a mechanism to shut down the border after seven consecutive days with an average of 5,000 illegal immigrants encountered per day or if more than 8,500 illegal aliens are encountered in a single day. The bill was also rolled into a broader $118 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel. Many Republicans strongly objected to the package, saying it did not do enough to secure the southern border. Senate Republicans blocked the bill in February.

In response, Democrats have hammered Republicans by accusing them of rejecting a potential solution to the border chaos. They’re hoping this messaging will be an effective strategy in November.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has vowed to bring the bipartisan border bill up for another vote this week while blaming Republicans for the continued crisis at the border. The bill is expected to be blocked again, and Republicans have called the move a political ploy.

“Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike were prepared to join arms and act to secure our nation’s border as part of the national security supplemental,” Mr. Schumer wrote in a letter to colleagues on May 19, saying the “Democrats’ commitment to act never waned.”

Earlier this month, the House Democrats’ campaign arm released a strategy to hit the GOP on the issue.

“Because of their decision to play politics with this critical issue—with six months until Election Day—House Democrats are going on the offensive against disingenuous far-right political attacks from Republicans who joined Trump in killing a bipartisan border deal so that they could campaign on the border,” reads a May 10 memo from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

With Republicans holding a razor-thin majority in the House, Democrats are looking to flip the chamber in 2025. Over in the Senate, several vulnerable Senate Democrats in red and purple states are fighting tough reelection bids as Republicans look to take control of the upper chamber.

An April 30 Gallup poll and a March Harvard/Harris poll confirm that Americans say immigration is the most important issue facing the country currently. A March Fox News poll found that 57 percent of voters say President Trump did a better job at immigration compared with 39 percent who said the same for President Biden.

The May 10 memo from the House Democratic campaign arm cites a Feb. 29 poll that found two in three Americans, or 66 percent, supported the bipartisan border bill.

The committee labels Rep. Tom Suozzi’s (D-N.Y.) victory in February’s close special election for former Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) seat a “blueprint” for beating House Republicans in other tough congressional races. The memo argues that Mr. Suozzi’s embrace of border security and the bipartisan bill is what led to his victory over his opponent, Mazi Pilip, who instead called it an “absolute nonstarter.”

After that win, Mr. Suozzi joined Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) to co-chair the new Democrats for Border Security Task Force “dedicated to [stopping drug trafficking] and addressing the influx of irregular migration at the southern border.”

Democrats See Winning Issue

Several Democrat lawmakers spoke with The Epoch Times about border security and their plans to embrace it ahead of the election. Some, such as Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), are already adopting Mr. Schumer’s narrative of blaming President Trump for the bill dying in the Senate as Democrats try to look competitive for November.

“[President Trump] said, ‘Don’t pass this bill because I’d rather have an issue to be able to hit Biden over the head with during the campaign.' He said it in so many words,” Mr. Nadler said.

The New York congressman argued that the bill was the “toughest border bill in 30 years” and that Republicans “killed” it for “political reasons.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) speaks to the media after voting in his upper West Side district in New York City on Aug. 23, 2022. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

He said Congress must provide funding and legislation to fix the border crisis.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said that in November, most people will vote based on what is affecting them the most, which could be the economy. She isn’t sure how much illegal immigration will affect the election.

“I think Democrats are going to stick to what we know. We’re strong,” Ms. Crockett said while blaming Republicans for not offering a “real solution” to the border crisis.

However, many GOP lawmakers disagree with their Democrat colleagues.

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) said Democrats “can try” to embrace border security as a campaign tool but that President Biden’s job is to secure the border through executive orders.

Some, such as Reps. Marcus Molinaro (R-N.Y.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), disagree that President Trump “killed” the bipartisan border bill.

Mr. Molinaro said the bill wasn’t “really about border security” but would simply provide new resources to process more migrants.

Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-N.Y.) speaks to reporters in Washington on Oct. 4, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

He said Democrats have to use the border as a tool for election because “they’re five minutes away from the general election, and Joe Biden’s underwater.”

Mr. Burchett blamed Senate Democrats for not considering a border security bill passed by House Republicans last year, named H.R.2., saying it was “the one that would have caused real change.” He said Democrats should “get a new focus group because they’re losing.”

Bringing the Bill for Another Vote

However, not every Republican who spoke with The Epoch Times was opposed to the bill from the outset.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) voted for the bill in February, saying “it’s better than what we have now” but might oppose it during another vote with his GOP colleagues.

“We’ve already voted on it. And so, at this stage, it’s a little political game that leader Schumer is playing,” he said.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) answers questions in his office in Washington on Sept. 13, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The senator also thinks it’s “too late” for President Biden to use executive action to close the border.

“I think if he cared about the border, he would have taken action a long time ago,” Mr. Romney said.

Not all Democrats agree with Senate leadership on bringing the bipartisan bill to the floor for another vote, especially without changes after it failed the first time.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told The Epoch Times that he wanted to make the bill “more strict” after it failed. He called it “symbolic” to bring the bill for another vote, knowing that most Republicans and some Democrats will vote against it.

“I think we can all agree that it would just be symbolic to put something up that you know is going to go down [and fail],” Mr. Fetterman said.

With control of the House hanging by just a thread of four seats, it could be the symbolism Democrats need to win back the majority.

Stacy Robinson and Joseph Lord contributed to this report.