The past week in immigration has revealed that Republicans are not interested in solving the border “crisis” because they want to run on it as a campaign issue. This revelation became evident during the special election for New York’s 3rd District, where voters expressed their frustration with Republicans’ failure to address immigration issues. CNN’s Dana Bash reported that voters in the district claimed they voted Democratic because Republicans sabotaged a bipartisan deal to secure the border.
The newly elected Democrat in the 3rd District, Tom Suozzi, benefited from the timing of the election. It took place shortly after Senate Republicans rejected a conservative border and immigration policy bill under pressure from the MAGA House conference and Donald Trump. Suozzi capitalized on this opportunity by attending his opponent’s press event at a Queens migrant shelter and accusing her of exploiting the immigration issue. He blamed Republicans for playing political games and urged them to focus on running the country instead of supporting Trump.
Democrats now have a playbook to go on offense on immigration. Senator Chris Murphy, the lead Senate negotiator for the Democrats on the bipartisan bill, wrote a memo urging his colleagues to use the issue to their advantage. Suozzi successfully painted his Republican opponent as unserious about border security because of her opposition to the bipartisan border bill. He turned a potential liability into an advantage by messaging aggressively on the issue and highlighting his support for a secure border and legal pathways to citizenship.
President Joe Biden is also expected to capitalize on this issue. The White House spokesperson issued a statement blaming Speaker Johnson for killing the bipartisan border security legislation, choosing politics and Donald Trump over the Border Patrol Union and national security. Democrats find it convenient that Donald Trump has volunteered to take the blame for the failure to address immigration issues.
Overall, the past week has revealed that Republicans are more interested in campaigning on the border “crisis” than actually solving it. Voters in New York’s 3rd District expressed their frustration with Republicans’ failure to address immigration issues, leading to the election of a Democrat who capitalized on this sentiment. Democrats now have a playbook to go on offense on immigration, and President Biden is expected to use this issue to his advantage as well. It remains to be seen how Republicans will respond to this growing awareness among voters.
