One of the co-chairs of President Biden’s re-election campaign said he fears growing frustration over worsening conditions on the southern border will hinder the Democrats’ prospects in 2024.
“People are really disappointed. They want to see order. They want to see the government manage the situation,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) told Politico in an interview published Tuesday.
“Unfortunately the Democrats got that burden now, and people have been brainwashed into thinking that somehow Donald Trump solved it.”
During fiscal year 2023, more than 2.47 million encounters were reported along the Mexican border — with more than 240,000 immigrants apprehended in October, the most recent month for which statistics are available, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection.
The influx has put pressure on liberal states and cities, where border state governors have ordered new arrivals.
Veronica Escobar is nervous that Democrats may be to blame for the border crisis. AP
“You hear Democrats in places like New York and Illinois sounding the alarm and in some cases sounding more like Republicans — I’m thinking about [New York City] Mayor Eric Adams,” Escobar admitted.
“The basic problem is that people want easy solutions. This is not an easy issue, nor an easy solution.”
Adams has urged the Biden administration and the rest of the federal government to address the hundreds of thousands of immigrants crossing the border and ease the strain on the Big Apple’s public resources.
A woman holds her leg as she lines up with other migrants along the US border wall to be processed by the US Border Patrol. DINNER ALLISON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Republicans have long blamed the White House, citing several policy changes including the repeal of the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy — a Trump-era initiative that required immigrants seeking asylum to stay south of the border while their court cases played out.
Escobar, whose House district is right next to the border and includes much of El Paso, believes Congress is more to blame.
“It’s our job,” he told Politico. “We have failed time and time again.”
Migrants formed a line outside the border fence waiting to be transported to a US Border Patrol facility in El Paso, Texas. AP
“I worry that the Democrats will be blamed just because the president is in the White House,” he added. “I hope not, but I’m afraid so.”
Last week, Escobar wrote an op-ed in his local paper blasting Republicans, claiming they “refuse to cooperate with Democratic colleagues” and ripping their emphasis on border security as a “costly failure.”
He also expressed skepticism about ongoing negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats on the additional spending bill.
There is no domestic issue more challenging for our country today than immigration, and there is no doubt that we must urgently address issues at the border. But the Senate’s secretive discussions that focus only on the border and not our broken immigration system are short-sighted.
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) December 15, 2023
“There is no domestic issue more challenging for our country today than immigration, and there is no doubt that we must urgently address issues at the border,” Escobar wrote on X last week.
“Senate secret negotiations focused only on the border and not our broken immigration system are short-sighted.”
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that allows the Lone Star State to arrest illegal immigrants.
President Biden tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as his “border czar.” Getty Images
Biden has fallen behind his GOP chief rival, former President Donald Trump, in several recent polls.
Voters generally give Biden low marks on immigration. For example, only 38% of voters approve of his handling of the issue, according to the Harvard CAPS-Harris poll – while Monmouth University recorded just 26% approval of the president on immigration in their own survey.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
