In a recent statement in preparation for a visit to the southern border, Vice President Kamala Harris touted her tough-on-immigration stance, claiming that “the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games.” Over the course of her career, Harris’ stance on immigration has become distinctly unprogressive, and has recently veered even further rightward.
Harris’ tone shift on immigration reflects a broader trend. In the past year, Democratic messaging has grown increasingly intolerant to immigration. If Democrats are to distinguish themselves from Republicans and assure voters of their supposed progressive immigration stances, they must stop allowing conservative narratives to dominate the conversation on the issue.
Democrats’ previous policies used to oppose anti-immigrant sentiment touted by Republicans. In her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris promised to decrease funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, end family separation at the border and ensure a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Still, during her campaign for vice president along with President Joe Biden, she emphasized her mother’s immigrant background and asserted that she held a “deep commitment to making sure that we are going to create a pathway towards citizenship.” Harris’ outward profession of her sympathy for immigrants has long masked her anti-immigrant political ambitions.
Yet in 2021, Harris told potential immigrants fleeing gang violence in Guatemala: “Do not come … If you come to our border, you will be turned back.” In February, Harris also proudly endorsed the bipartisan Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations bill, which would have formed a new federal agency with the jurisdiction to, almost indiscriminately, deny asylum to and deport immigrants if border crossings exceed a daily average of 4,000 per week. In our current political climate, even progressive members of the Democratic Party that support policies like creating more accessible pathways to legal citizenship and ending immigrant detention caveat their support with a special urgency to “secure our border,” or an acknowledgement of a border “crisis.”
While it is true that the U.S. immigration system needs reform, it is fallacious to suggest that the problems lie in insecurity. To the extent that our border is failing, it is failing in its ability to efficiently and humanely process immigrants seeking a better life, not in its ability to effectively repel them. It is the adoption of this preventionist perspective, which frames immigrants as an unmanageable burden, that seems like an abrupt and surprising shift of Democratic policies. This viewpoint is fueled by racially-charged lies that immigrants are contributing to economic decline, overwhelming our legal systems, committing crimes against natural born citizens and eroding national identity and unity. Additionally, xenophobic rhetoric touted by Republican politicians such as Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), most recently surrounding Haitian immigrants allegedly threatening Americans pets in Springfield, Ohio, has branded immigrants as clear scapegoats for conservative campaigns.
In reality, immigrants strengthen the American workforce. In the United States, immigrants “make up approximately 1-in-7 residents, 1-in-6 workers, and 1-in-4 of new business [owners].” They are also more likely to be of “prime working age” (between 25 and 54 years old) according to the Joint Economic Committee, thus balancing out the older native population. In addition, immigrants disproportionately work in jobs deemed essential, which became especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, rather than submitting to the conservative narrative, Democrats must fight unsubstantiated anti-immigrant rhetoric with facts.
Conservative politicians frequently argue that immigrants commit crimes at higher rates than natural born citizens — another fallacy. A 2019 investigation by the Cato Institute found that immigrants were 37.1% less likely to be convicted of a crime. Additionally, according to a recent study from the research arm of the Department of Justice, undocumented immigrants commit significantly fewer crimes per capita than natural born citizens.
As Harris seeks to revitalize Democratic voters’ passion this election cycle, she must work to actively refute false claims related to immigration, such as those purported by Vance. Rather than seek public support with a harsh-on-immigration stance, Democrats should address our economic reality rather than scapegoating the Southern border as the root cause of American economic issues. Moreover, voters must demand concrete solutions from our legislators that address actual issues, including high costs of living, while advocating for reforms of the intolerant U.S. immigration system.
As students at Emory University, we have the ability to impact metro Atlanta immigration policy, especially as over 98% of individuals are denied asylum in local immigration courts. Campus organizations like Emory Behind the Glass also give students the opportunity to advocate for local detainees at Stewart Detention Center through petitions and collective action, connect students to detainees through visits and letter exchange and monitor human rights violations in the facility. Collectively, our advocacy can impact the lives of the nearly 850,000 immigrants in metro Atlanta. Initiatives that connect us to Atlanta’s immigrants breathe life into immigrant stories and the people that make up the fabric of this country.
The above editorial represents the majority opinion of The Emory Wheel’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is composed of Marc Goedemans, Carson Kindred, Justin Leach, Eliana Liporace and Ilka Tona.
