This Issue: Immigration issue raised during final prez debate, but focus only on illegal immigration

Fri, Oct. 23^th

There's a deep contrast to the immigration views of Pres. Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But the casual follower of politics may not know exactly how much the two presidential candidates actually differ.

Last night's final debate between Trump and Biden finally saw some discussion of an issue that dominated the 2016 election cycle. Unfortunately, the issue was brought up within the context of last year's border surge instead of discussing how a Biden administration would deal with legal immigration during the jobs recession created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Still, viewers heard a few of the key differences between the candidates less than two weeks from election day.

AMNESTY

Within his first 100 days, Biden pledged to send to Congress an amnesty proposal for the more than 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States.

Biden's support for a mass amnesty may not surprise many, but most amnesty supporters discuss it in the context of comprehensive immigration reform. Biden didn't mention a comprehensive approach that usually includes some promises for future enforcement. His omission could signal that he stands with the more progressive members of his Party who have called for a no-strings amnesty and a dismantling of enforcement.

We know from Biden's campaign website that he would freeze deportations within the first 100 days, and while he doesn't support the calls from some of his Party for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), he does call for reforming and restricting the agency's operations.

Trump has expressed support for amnesty for at least some of the "Dreamers". But he's also made it clear that he supports strengthened interior enforcement and border security.

Biden failed to mention enforcement last night even though he was directly asked about the Obama-Biden Administration's record on deportations.

CATCH-AND-RELEASE

With last night's discussion under the context of recent border surges, Trump touted his ending of catch-and-release, where Biden appeared to support the policy.

Catch-and-release is a significant driver of border surges. Under the policy, Border Patrol officers release illegal border crossers into the interior of the United States with a Notice to Appear in court at a future date. But many of the illegal aliens released never show up for their court date and simply disappear.

The Trump administration supports both expedited removal where illegal border crossers are swiftly deported and also changes to the asylum process that require asylum seekers to remain outside the United States until their court date occurs.

During last night's debate, Biden signaled that he would restart the policy of catch-and-release allowing illegal aliens to roam freely in the U.S.

For more on the immigration positions of Pres. Trump and Joe Biden, see our Presidential comparison grid here https://www.numbersusa.com/content/elections/races/presidential/2020-presidential-hopefuls.html

Chris Chmielenski
NumbersUSA Deputy Director

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Fri, Oct. 23^rd

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Thu, Oct. 22^nd

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Wed, Oct. 21^st

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Tue, Oct. 20^th

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Mon, Oct. 19^th

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