Democrats scramble to make their immigration stand amid broader support for deportations
Story by Emily Ngo and Nicholas Wu • 14h
NEW YORK — Democrats’ long-standing struggle with messaging has come back to haunt them just as President Donald Trump is intensifying his crackdown on illegal immigration — an effort some Democrats support.
For the moment, the party is backed into a corner. Its leaders are reluctant to alienate centrist members voting with Republicans on bills making it easier to deport migrants charged with crimes. They also can’t deny that public opinion is shifting to the right and aligning with Trump on targeting criminals. And they know missteps could blow their chances at retaking the House in the midterms.
“What is the party’s message on immigration? There presently is not one,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told reporters recently in Washington.
The president and his party, after all, seized the trifecta of power in Washington with the election promises of combating illegal immigration and reviving the economy — with many GOP candidates slamming government spending on immigrants without legal status. During the elections, Democrats, meanwhile, were more splintered in their priorities — with some casting trans rights and abortion access as top concerns. Altogether, that has put the Democratic Party into a near-constant state of tortured deliberation on how to confront Trump 2.0, especially on border security.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-scramble-to-make-their-immigration-stand-amid-broader-support-for-deportations/ar-AA1yhNeU?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=b6d6fcf0a5a04b4abe02d710761ee6e1&ei=159
