While immigration, and the lives of thousands of families, has proven to be a polarizing issue in the upcoming election, this Tuesday’s presidential debate showed that the national conversation lacks any serious discussion about either facts or policy solutions. The stage was set before the debate when Senator and Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance spread an absurd – and absurdly racist – rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield,Ohio are eating people’s pets.
Things did not get any better on Tuesday night.
You can find a full transcript of the debate here; below is a sample of how both candidates approached immigration during the debate, and you can find Fact Checks from both the Associated Press and CNN.
When asked about the current state of the economy compared to 4 years ago, Former President Trump responded in part: “On top of that, we have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums. And they’re coming in and they’re taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics and also unions. Unions are going to be affected very soon. And you see what’s happening. You see what’s happening in towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country. And they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous. They’re at the highest level of criminality. And we have to get them out. We have to get them out fast.”
In discussion about tariffs, Former President Trump again brought up immigration: “But when you look at what she’s done to our country and when you look at these millions and millions of people that are pouring into our country monthly where it’s I believe 21 million people, not the 15 that people say, and I think it’s a lot higher than the 21. That’s bigger than New York state. Pouring in. And just look at what they’re doing to our country. They’re criminals. Many of these people coming in are criminals. And that’s bad for our economy too.”
When asked about immigration and border security, Vice President Harris began her response by briefly referencing her experiences prosecuting trafficking and followed-up by saying: “And let me say that the United States Congress, including some of the most conservative members of the United States Senate, came up with a border security bill which I supported. And that bill would have put 1,500 more border agents on the border to help those folks who are working there right now overtime trying to do their job. It would have allowed us to stem the flow of fentanyl coming into the United States. I know there are so many families watching tonight who have been personally affected by the surge of fentanyl in our country. That bill would have put more resources to allow us to prosecute transnational criminal organizations for trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings.”
Former President Trump responded: “Our country is being lost. We’re a failing nation. And it happened three and a half years ago. And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War 3, just to go into another subject. What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country. And look at what’s happening to the towns all over the United States. And a lot of towns don’t want to talk — not going to be Aurora or Springfield. A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”
When asked about his deportation plans, and specifically if it means that, “authorities will be going door to door in this country?”, Former President Trump responded: “Yeah. It is much higher because of [the Biden Administration]. They allowed criminals. Many, many, millions of criminals. They allowed terrorists. They allowed common street criminals. They allowed people to come in, drug dealers, to come into our country, and they’re now in the United States. And told by their countries like Venezuela don’t ever come back or we’re going to kill you. Do you know that crime in Venezuela and crime in countries all over the world is way down? You know why? Because they’ve taken their criminals off the street and they’ve given them to her to put into our country. And this will be one of the greatest mistakes in history for them to allow — and I think they probably did it because they think they’re going to get votes. But it’s not worth it. Because they’re destroying the fabric of our country by what they’ve done. There’s never been anything done like this at all. They’ve destroyed the fabric of our country. Millions of people let in. And all over the world crime is down. All over the world except here. Crime here is up and through the roof. Despite their fraudulent statements that they made. Crime in this country is through the roof. And we have a new form of crime. It’s called migrant crime. And it’s happening at levels that nobody thought possible.”
In responding to questions about the 2020 election and the events of January 6th, Former President Trump repeatedly brought the subject back to immigration: “But we didn’t do — this group of people that have been treated so badly. I ask, what about all the people that are pouring into our country and killing people? That she allowed to pour in. She was the border czar. Remember that. She was the border czar. She doesn’t want to be called the border czar because she’s embarrassed by the border. In fact, she said at the beginning, I’m surprised you’re not talking about the border yet. That’s because she knows what a bad job they’ve done. What about those people? What’s, when are they going to be prosecuted — when are these people from countries all over the world, not just South America, they’re coming in from all over the world, David, all over the world. And crime rates are down all over the world because of it –”
“Why are we allowing these millions of people to come through on the southern border?”
“Those people are killing many people, unlike J-6.”
“We need two things. We need walls. We need – and we have to have it. What have to have borders. And we have to have good elections.”
“Our elections are bad. And a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they’re trying to get them to vote.”
When talking about the Israel/Gaza conflict, the Former President again brought the topic back to immigration: “[the Biden Administration] are the ones — and she’s the one that caused it, that’s weak on national security by allowing every nation last month for the year, 168 different countries sending people into our country. Their crime rates are way down.”
At no point did either candidate discuss a pathway to citizenship for those here. Neither talked about families seeking refuge, Dreamers, agricultural workers, those on temporary protected status, or said anything positive about any group of immigrants. We’ll let the pundits talk about who won the debate, but it is clear that basic human decency was the loser.
Federal Updates
Federal Budget
As we enter the end of the federal fiscal year, we are once again faced with what seems to be a semi-annual prospect of a government shutdown. Leadership in the House had proposed a 6-month Continuing Resolution (CR) to temporarily fund the government at current levels, but are also trying to force the inclusion of the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote. However, Senate Democrats have indicated that a funding bill that includes the SAVE Act would likely not even get a vote on the floor, and President Biden has promised to veto such an attempt to make voting more difficult for US citizens.
At the same time, some House GOP members have also balked at the bill, objecting to maintaining current funding levels. Because of the Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House, even a few defections could sink the bill. Speaker Johnson had originally promised a vote on the bill on Wednesday, but delayed the vote at the last minute to try and shore up support in his conference. With concerns about how a potential government shutdown could impact an election that is less than two months away, many are speculating that Speaker Johnson will abandon the SAVE Act and introduce a clean CR to maintain the status quo. MIRA will keep you updated as this political dance once again plays out through the end of the month.
Parole in Place
A federal judge in Texas extended the hold on the Biden Administration’s Parole in Place program, also known as “Keeping Families Together”. The 2-week extension blocks USCIS from making any decisions on applications through September 23rd and could be extended again. During this time, USCIS will continue to accept and process applications, including scheduling applicants for their biometrics appointments, and any decisions issued before the hold was issued are not impacted.