Immigration is becoming one of the most important priorities for voters in the upcoming election.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 28% of voters see immigration as the No. 1 issue for the 2024 election — an 8% rise from similar polls in January. This comes at a time when border crossings are reaching millions per year, and many public figures like Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk have begun to hone in on the issue.
Border crossings in December reached over 250,000, more than any other month on record. Since Biden took office, there has only been one month with fewer than 100,000 border encounters — that was in June, which saw 99,538 encounters.
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In contrast, July 2017 had the fewest number of border encounters. April 2020 was the second-fewest, largely because the border was closed during the pandemic. On average, there were fewer than 50,000 border encounters per month during the Trump administration, with a spike during mid-2019.
This number doesn't include the roughly 320,000 migrants the Biden administration secretly flew into airports around the U.S. in an attempt to reduce the number of border crossings reported. The transport program, which recently came to light, allows 30,000 asylum seekers per month into the U.S. if they pass a background check and have a sponsor within the United States.
Both sides are split on the issue. In 2020, Biden campaigned heavily on "dismantling" Trump's immigration policy. In Trump's first term, he took more than 400 executive actions on immigration. His Remain In Mexico policy was particularly controversial, as it allowed massive encampments along the border that critics argued made them targets of those they were hoping to flee from.
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Trump's policies often separated families, allowing kids to be taken care of in the United States but sending adults back to Mexico. The policy was implemented to reduce child trafficking at the border until an investigation could confirm the relationships between the children and their parents were legitimate. Critics argued it was an inhumane policy that separated families at the border.
In a campaign rally in 2020, Biden said, "If I’m elected president, we’re going to immediately end Trump’s assault on the dignity of immigrant communities. We’re going to restore our moral standing in the world and our historic role as a safe haven for refugees and asylum-seekers."
However, the Biden Administration recently changed its strategy for the 2024 election. In early February, the Biden administration characterized the situation at the border as a "crisis" but blamed Republicans for the situation after they killed an immigration bill in early February.
While the debate around the border has been going on for decades, the recent rise in polling is likely attributed to events that unfolded on Feb. 24, 2024. Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University in Georgia. In late February, she was reported missing after failing to return from her morning run. Not long after, her body was discovered in Oconee Forest Park having suffered blunt force trauma.
José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, was charged with several crimes, including murder. Ibarra entered the United States illegally in September 2022, which sparked debates on both sides of the aisle.
Biden addressed the issue in the State of the Union speech, which has further exacerbated the controversy. During his address, Biden mispronounced her name stating, "Lincoln, Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal." Then saying, "To her parents, my heart goes out to you having lost children myself."
In an interview late last week, Biden apologized for calling Ibarra an "illegal."
"I shouldn't have used illegal, it's undocumented," Biden said.
Trump responded to Biden's comments, saying, "I say he is an illegal alien, he is an illegal immigrant, he is an illegal migrant, and he should have never been in our country, and he wouldn't have been under the Trump policies.
"Laken Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and maliciously eviscerated the borders of the United States and set loose thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals into our country."
Trump was later seen hugging Riley's parents. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other politicians on the right were quick to blast the different responses from the leading presidential candidates.
Cruz responded to this on X, stating, "This is the difference" to a repost showing the contrasting responses.
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