Immigration: A comparison of parties

By Isabella Osgood 

Illegal immigration is a top concern for voters this presidential election. Gallup News reported that immigration is the most important topic that does not pertain to economics this election season. 

An end to illegal immigration has been a top point discussed by former President Donald Trump during all three of his presidential campaigns. His intention of building a U.S – Mexico border wall gained positive and negative attention from voters. Prior to Trump’s presidency in 2017, 654 miles of some sort of wall was built in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Once in office, the Trump Administration built 400 more miles of border wall, according to BBC. 

After receiving criticism because of an influx of migrants during his term, President Joe Biden released a press statement in June saying the Biden administration would be “[baring] migrants who cross the Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum”. The press release also stated the intention of revoking visas of government officials and CEO’s who may profit from illegal immigration. NPR reported that during his first presidential race in 2020, Biden said we would restore the asylum system. 

Now that President Joe Biden has announced that he will step out of the 2024 presidential race against Donald Trump, the current president is now endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. As vice president, one of Harris’s prime duties is to oversee the border. In March, Harris said, “… I think most Americans are clear, that we have a broken immigration system and we need to fix it,” the New York Times reported. She recently supported a bipartisan border control deal that was never passed. 

During the Biden administration, 1.7 million illegal migrants have entered the United States, with 6.7 migrant interactions at the Southern border, according to the Budget House Committee. 301,000 migrants were paroled under the Biden administration, as compared to 75,000 during Trump’s presidency.