GOP exploits White House policy flaws, stirs migrant fears pre-election – experts
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Republicans have effectively capitalized on flaws in White House policy and fueled American fears of a surge in migrants from the south. Further politicization of this issue is expected to impede its resolution until the November elections, according to experts interviewed by NV.
For Americans, the influx of newly arrived migrants has eclipsed even inflation as the most pressing political concern. However, only one in five citizens approves of the White House’s migration policy, based on average polling data. Nearly half of voters (44%) perceive the border policy with Mexico as President Joe Biden’s most significant failure.
Ahead of the elections, Republican adversaries seized the opportunity to exploit this situation. The border crisis has emerged as a pivotal political topic, with Republicans banking on it to secure electoral gains, explains Karl Kaltenthaler, director of the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies and professor of political science at the University of Akron.
“From Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, they have been very successful in using immigration as a stick to attack President Biden and Democrats in general,” Professor Kaltenthaler remarked, in agreement with Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández from the Department of Civil Rights and Liberties at the Ohio State University College of Law.
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Observers acknowledge that Democrats have long neglected migration policy. In 2021, the influx of asylum seekers from the south more than doubled compared to the figures during Donald Trump’s term, marked by his anti-immigrant stance.
The crisis escalated gradually, prompting criticism even from Democratic mayors and governors whose jurisdictions were inundated with migrants from Texas. Finally, in December 2023, President Biden conceded: “We have to fix a broken border system. It’s broken.”
However, the Republicans had already succeeded in stoking fears of migrants and portraying chaos, while superficially critiquing the Biden administration’s approach to migration policy, García Hernández noted.
Now, the election campaign and mutual distrust between the two major US parties are deadlocking negotiations on migration policy changes. Republicans continue to stoke public sentiment, exacerbating fear of migrants for political advantage.
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“The fear of migrants is a sentiment that is conveniently exploited for political gain,” Kaltenthaler stated, citing Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s anti-migrant rhetoric. Trump, he believes, has made it clear to fellow party members that he opposes a bipartisan deal on the border.
Consequently, the border crisis is unlikely to see a swift resolution and is poised to dominate this year’s election cycle, the experts predict. It will further polarize an already divided American society and relegate other issues to the sidelines.
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