Immigration
Democrats
Opposes family separation, supports reform
Harris opposes family separation, supports green cards for undocumented spouses, and voted against Trump’s border wall. The Biden administration backs a bill that tightens asylum requirements and grants the president more control over migration.
- Experience and Track Record: Harris highlights her experience as California Attorney General, where she prosecuted gangs involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking, including cases related to cross-border activities.
- Role in Addressing Root Causes: Early in the Biden administration, Harris was appointed to address the root causes of migration, focusing on long-term solutions to reduce migration pressures.
- Criticism and Counterarguments: Harris responds to criticisms from Trump and Republicans, who blame her for the perceived border situation. She argues that a bipartisan Senate compromise, which included tougher asylum standards and increased border enforcement, was close to passing before Trump’s opposition derailed it.
- Response to Trump: Harris accuses Trump of failing to follow through on his immigration promises, stating that he “talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk” regarding immigration policies.
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Harris supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes pathways to citizenship for immigrants without legal status and a faster track for young immigrants who arrived as children.
Republicans
Restore Trump-era Policies and Mass Deportation
Trump will end catch-and-release, restore Remain in Mexico, target asylum fraud, and use the National Guard and local law enforcement to remove criminal immigrants.
- Large-Scale Deportation: Trump promises to execute the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history, which could involve detention camps and the National Guard.
- Reinstating Previous Policies: He aims to bring back policies from his first term, such as the Remain in Mexico program and Title 42, which restricted migrants on public health grounds.
- Expanded Travel Ban: Trump plans to revive and expand the travel ban that initially targeted citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.
- Ideological Screening: In response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, he has proposed new "ideological screening" for immigrants to exclude those he deems as “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs.”
- Deportation of Legal Residents: He seeks to deport individuals legally residing in the U.S. if they are suspected of harboring “jihadist sympathies.”
- Ending Birthright Citizenship: Trump aims to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are both in the country illegally.
