Like Bernie and obama said the border must be closed. Laws enforced. And changes made to make it humane. And while we’re at it reform h1b to prevent job loss. I mean it’s popular. And makes sense from a laborist perspective.
Like Bernie and obama said the border must be closed. Laws enforced. And changes made to make it humane. And while we’re at it reform h1b to prevent job loss. I mean it’s popular. And makes sense from a laborist perspective.
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Like Bernie and obama said the border must be closed. Laws enforced. And changes made to make it humane. And while we’re at it reform h1b to prevent job loss. I mean it’s popular. And makes sense from a laborist perspective.
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As you pointed out, they already do. They’re willing to vote for Obama the reporter-in-chief, Biden the runner up, and Bernie Sanders. The “too soft on immigration” accusations against them are spurious lies.
That’s why this isn’t actually a fight against policy. It’s a fight against rhetoric.
“Harder” on immigration right now means such things as abducting international students off the streets and accusing any immigrant of being a terrorist gang member so they can throw them into a Central American black site prison without any trial process.
Democrats had tons of bills that did exactly that. Republicans always balked with the most recent try Donald Trump explicitly said they shouldn’t pass the bill because it would hurt his election campaign.
Obama never said the border ‘must be closed’.
This is what he said:
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/20/remarks-President-address-nation-immigration
I quote:
>Over the past few years, I have seen the determination of immigrant fathers who worked two or three jobs without taking a dime from the government, and at risk any moment of losing it all, just to build a better life for their kids. I’ve seen the heartbreak and anxiety of children whose mothers might be taken away from them just because they didn’t have the right papers. I’ve seen the courage of students who, except for the circumstances of their birth, are as American as Malia or Sasha; students who bravely come out as undocumented in hopes they could make a difference in the country they love.
But, we are living in an era of ’empathy is a sin’ amirite?
Because there’s millions of people across the world born elsewhere who want to be Americans and support this country. Why not help them?
Immigration is good for productivity and generally doesn’t decrease wages.[1]
The H-1B program has a net positive impact on American innovation and the economy.[2]
If you’re talking about being harder on illegal immigration, I’d agree but we need to have legal pathways so businesses can be free to hire who they want to.
Sources: [1] “Even the apparent short-term benefits to wages are a poor economic argument for tough immigration restrictions. Migrants have economic effects far beyond the labour market. They spur innovation and entrepreneurship and they help create trade links between America and their home countries. Both low- and high-skilled migration are linked with higher productivity.” from The Economist
archive link
[2]
https://www.economist.com/business/2025/01/02/magas-war-on-talent-frightens-ceos-and-angers-elon-musk
archive link
Immigration is good. So is free trade. So are free markets. Reagan could’ve told this to you but unfortunately MAGA prefers racism to economic growth
What does “harder immigration policy” look like?
Because the Democrats enforce the laws, catch and deport a bunch of people (as occasionally pointed out, deportation numbers go up under Democrats), and negotiated with Republicans to present a bipartisan bill (which, according to frustrated high-ranking Republicans, Trump shot down because he wanted to campaign on it).
It seems the main difference that the Trump administration brings is the intentional cruelty, like using child separation as a deterrent and not keeping records for eventual reunification. Is that what you’re advocating for? Would you be happier if we just started gunning them down?
It seems your rebuttal to most comments in this thread is that even if Democrats are tougher on immigration than Republicans say, we should put a tough-on-immigration attitude front and center.
To some extent this is a fool’s errand because
We acknowledge some of the temporary ills of immigration–we should address them with other policy levers at our disposal. Though I agree it’d perhaps benefit Democrats to have better publicity around obvious wins like deportation of (convicted) criminals (as opposed to innocent fathers from Maryland).
How was Bidens policy against the border that much different than Obamas?
What do you mean by closing the border? Do you mean halting immigration? Because the border is legally closed, doesn’t mean people can’t get through it because we don’t spend enough to fortify it though
Define “harder immigration policy.”
It doesn’t create job loss or suppress wages, and freedom of movement is a human right.
Maybe when republicans actually start voting for closed borders things will change
It’s a shifting line. Every time the left gives the right an inch, the right then demands another. They will shut down the government to block a bill that they *demanded* because now they demand more.
Because immigration is economically beneficial. It has made us the richest and most powerful country in the world. I’m okay with Democrats enforcing the law humanely when it comes to illegal immigrants, but frankly anyone who is hostile to legal immigration should be run out of the party.
The Dems already are the sane border policy party. They don’t need to change squadoo.
Just change the law so it is easier to come and work here. Problem solved, a lot less “illegals” being in the country
Assuming that the issue is actually just that they came here illegal right …. RIGHT ….?
Generally, when politicians keep repeating the same thing over and over, they’re trying to sell you a lie. Look up the numbers yourself.
The policies they adopt in the near term wont matter. If their rhetoric around immigration fails to match Trumps tone MAGA voters will assume Democrats are for fully open borders. If they do match Trumps rhetoric, they will assume the Democrats are lying. I assume the majority of “independents” will follow this pattern as well.
In the end I don’t think immigration is a big problem or a critical factor in winning or losing an election.
The Democrats in this era will never be the go to pick if illegal immigration keeps you up at night. They don’t need to be to win an election.
From my perspective the right weaves narratives to demonize illegal immigrants by drumming up fear about all the bad ones, much the same way the left scrutinized and highlighted ever bad cop in the US for black lives matter to paint the police force as systemically racist. Meanwhile most immigrants even undocumented ones are a net positive for our labor pool and tax collection, and most cops are just doing their job and protecting us.