Opinion

AP: Biden Moving Right on Immigration. Translation: It's Election Time!

Is President Biden moving to the right and getting control of the border?

There was a big drop in “migrant encounters” on the border from December to January. An apparent deal with the Mexican government has resulted in Mexico cracking down on non-Mexican migrants.

Is this a real change in policy?

In a recent article, the Associated Press claims President Biden is making a "rightward shift on immigration."

Here are some excerpts:

In his 2020 campaign, Joe Biden vowed to undo former President Donald Trump ’s immigration policies, specifically expressing frustration with a policy setting limits on the number of asylum seekers accepted each day at the southern border.

That’s why Biden let in several million border crossers in three years.

This year, Biden backed a Senate proposal that would have set daily limits on border crossings — and Democrats are planning to campaign to reelect him by emphasizing that Republicans caused the deal to collapse.

It’s referring to the recently-rejected border deal in the Senate.

As for “daily limits," our goal for illegal crossings should be ZERO.

Democrats are reframing the immigration debate, going from embracing more welcoming policies in response to the Trump administration’s programs at the border — including its separation of hundreds of immigrant children from their parents — to declaring that they can get tough on border security and adopt policies long sought by Republicans.

After three years of bringing in millions of unauthorized border crossers, how could anyone seriously believe the administration now wants a strict border policy?

What year is it? Oh yes, it’s 2024. An election year.

The administration can accept lowering the quantity of border crossers in order to win the election.

Biden’s rhetorical shift risks straining his support from immigrants and their advocates who campaigned for him in 2020, but it appears to be working for Democrats after they won a special election in New York… Democrat Tom Suozzi, who won Tuesday’s special election in New York for the House seat once held by ousted Republican Rep. George Santos, ran ads calling for more border security and featuring an interview he did on Fox News in which he supported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But just talking about border security is too much for some.

More than 130 organizations from around the country sent a letter to Biden opposing the deal and the tougher standards for asylum.

The Senate border deal was too tough? That shows you where they stand.

Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and secretary of housing and urban development who ran against Biden for the presidential nomination in 2020, suggested Biden and his allies were adopting the terms of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. “Democrats, you’re never going to be cruel enough, ‘tough’ enough, anti-immigrant enough or able to deport your way to the negotiating table with McConnell and MAGA,” Castro said. “Stop playing their game.”

But what about the border-crossers who entered the country the past 3 years?

The article quotes several Democrats who have a plan for them:

Tom Suozzi, representative-elect for New York's 3rd congressional district, "shares Biden’s position on creating a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrants referred to as 'Dreamers,' who are in the country illegally after coming to the U.S. with their families as children."
Democrat strategist Maria Cardona says, “We need to lean into this and not just on border security, but, yes, tough border security coupled with increased legal pathways.”
"Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat and the only Hispanic woman in the upper chamber, said her constituents want to see an 'orderly process at the border.' She said they still demand broad immigration reforms that legalize the status of 'Dreamers' and others who only have temporary protections from deportation."

Amnesty, in other words. They want amnesty for all those who have already entered the country.

Remember folks, it’s an election year. Biden’s supposed “rightward shift” is a move to win the election. The goals are still the same.

You can find more of Allan Wall's work at his website and Mexico News Report.