As the 2024 US presidential election approaches, immigration remains a central issue reflecting deep divisions over how the country should manage its borders, undocumented migrants, and legal pathways to citizenship. The candidates, current Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, present drastically opposing visions for the future of immigration in the country.
Harris-Biden Policies: Restoring the system and strengthening families
Since taking office, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have worked to reverse many of the policies implemented by the Trump administration, which they consider harmful to the immigration system. One of their priorities has been keeping families together by reversing family separation policies, reunifying more than 700 families separated under the previous administration, and protecting the spouses and children of U.S. citizens.
Under Biden's leadership, the administration has issued more than 500 executive actions, including over 300 focused on undoing Trump-era immigration policies. Among its achievements is the expansion of legal pathways for more than 2 million immigrants, which has allowed workers and families to legally integrate into the country while also boosting the economy. In addition, the Biden-Harris administration has created policies to address the root causes of migration, focusing on improving conditions in countries of origin such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala through humanitarian aid initiatives and international cooperation.
The administration has also worked to protect DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, implementing new policies that facilitate Dreamers' access to work visas and reducing wait times for their labor integration.
Official immigration position on Kamala Harris's campaign website:
“Securing our borders and fixing our broken immigration system
Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe in tough, smart solutions to secure the border, keep communities safe, and reform our broken immigration system. As California Attorney General, Vice President Harris went after international drug cartels, human traffickers, and gangs smuggling weapons, drugs, and human beings across the U.S.-Mexico border. As Vice President, she supported the bipartisan border security bill, the strongest reform in decades. The legislation would have deployed more detection technology to intercept fentanyl and other drugs and would have added 1,500 border security agents to protect our border. After Donald Trump killed the border deal for his political benefit, she and President Biden took action on their own – and now border crossings are at their lowest level in 4 years, her administration is seizing record amounts of fentanyl, and she secured funding for the most significant increase in border agents in ten years. As President, she will revive the bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law. At the same time, she knows that our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform that includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.”
Trump-Vance: Mass deportations and family separation
On the other hand, the Trump campaign, in alliance with Senator J.D. Vance, proposes a much more restrictive and aggressive approach to immigration. Trump has promised mass deportations, using police and military forces to conduct raids in public places and workplaces, in addition to the construction of internment camps for undocumented immigrants. This strategy has been widely criticized for the negative impact it would have on families, communities, and the U.S. economy.
One of the most controversial issues of the Trump administration was the family separation policy, which resulted in the separation of nearly 4,000 children from their parents. Trump has left open the possibility of reinstating this policy if elected again, something that has generated fear among many immigrant communities in the United States.
In addition, Trump has promised to dismantle DACA, which could leave more than half a million young people without protection against deportation and without the ability to work legally in the country. He also proposes ending temporary protection programs for refugees and those fleeing situations of violence, which would affect millions of people.
Official Republican Party platform on Donald Trump's campaign website:
“SEAL THE BORDER AND STOP THE IMMIGRANT INVASION
Our commitment:
Republicans are offering an aggressive plan to stop open-border policies that have opened the floodgates to a surge of illegal aliens, deadly drugs, and migrant crime. We will end the invasion at the southern border, restore law and order, protect American sovereignty, and provide a safe and prosperous future for all Americans.
1. 1. Secure the border
Republicans will restore all Trump administration border policies and halt all releases of illegal aliens into the interior. We will complete the border wall, shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement, and use advanced technology to monitor and secure the border. We will use all necessary resources to stop the invasion, including the redeployment of thousands of troops currently stationed abroad to our own southern border. We will deploy the U.S. Navy to impose a total fentanyl blockade in the waters of our region, boarding and inspecting vessels for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors. Before defending the borders of foreign countries, we must first secure the border of our own country.
2. Enforce immigration laws
Republicans will reinforce ICE, increase penalties for illegal entry and overstaying visas, and reinstate «Remain in Mexico» and other policies that helped reduce illegal immigration to historic lows during President Trump's first term. We will also invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug traffickers, or cartel members from the United States, ending once and for all the scourge of illegal alien gang violence. We will bring back the travel ban and use Title 42 to end the child trafficking crisis, immediately returning all child trafficking victims to their families in their home countries.
3. Start the largest deportation program in US history
President Trump and Republicans will reverse the Democrats' destructive open-border policies that have allowed criminal gangs and illegal aliens from around the world to roam the United States without consequences. The Republican Party is committed to sending illegal aliens back home and expelling those who have violated our laws.
4. Strict investigation
Republicans will use existing federal law to keep out of the United States foreign communists, Marxists, and socialists who hate Christians. Those who join our country must love our country. We will use extreme vetting to ensure that jihadists and jihad sympathizers are not admitted.
5. Stop sanctuary cities
Republicans will cut federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions that release dangerous illegal alien criminals onto our streets instead of handing them over to ICE. We will demand local cooperation with federal immigration forces.
6. 6. Ensure that our legal immigration system prioritizes American workers
Republicans will prioritize merit-based immigration, ensuring that individuals admitted to our country contribute positively to our society and economy, and never become a burden on public resources. We will end chain migration and prioritize American workers.
Summary: Two opposing visions
Kamala Harris:
- He opposes many Trump-era immigration policies, but supports some policies of the Biden administration, including asylum restrictions for those who cross the border illegally.
- Supports a bipartisan proposal to increase border security and the number of asylum officers, and would close the border if crossings exceed certain thresholds.
- It maintains a stance of following and enforcing laws regarding illegal crossings, emphasizing the consequences.
- Support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and promote permanent protections for Dreamers.
- It focuses on addressing the causes of migration in Latin America through private development funds.
Donald Trump:
- He plans to implement the “largest deportation operation in U.S. history,” including the detention of undocumented immigrants in camps prior to mass deportations.
- He proposes revoking birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and granting authority to state police and the National Guard for immigration enforcement.
- Support building more border wall infrastructure and deploying the military for immigration control.
- He supports harsher immigration measures, including the use of the Alien Enemies Act for deportations without due process.
- It dehumanizes migrants, describing them as “poisoning the blood” of the country and calling some of them “animals.”.
