Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., urged Democrats to crack down on the border and immigration. Wednesday memorial to party membersCiting the New York Democrat Tom Suozzi’s victory in the special election for former GOP Rep. George Santos’ 3rd Congressional District seat on Long Island.
Murphy served as the lead Democratic negotiator Bipartisan border security legislation rejected by Republicans largely along party lines last week, pointing to Suozzi’s “aggressive” messaging on the border and immigration leading to a special election victory that the senator argued could “serve as a road map for Democrats” in November.
“Suozzi has sent aggressive messages on this issue, running ads highlighting his support for a secure border and legal pathways to citizenship,” Murphy wrote. “He flipped the script on his Republican opponent, portraying him as frivolous on border security because he opposed a bipartisan border bill, turning what could have been a devastating political liability into an advantage.”
Murphy acknowledged his frustration at being involved in months of negotiations over a bipartisan border security bill that Republicans stabbed in the Senate within days. But he said the GOP’s rejection of the bill gives Democrats a way to counter Republican talking points on the border.
“Republicans cannot claim that the border is in crisis and then vote against a bipartisan bill written by their own leadership that would fix the problem,” he said. turning the narrative at the border. “We can talk about our belief in a strong border and strong legal immigration, which contrasts with the Republican view of the border as a simple political tool to help spread hateful, xenophobic messages about immigrants.”
“We simply risk losing the 2024 election if we don’t seize the opportunity to go on the offensive on the border issue and turn the tables on the Republicans on the key fall ballot issue,” he said.
Ahead of Suozzi’s special election victory Tuesday night, some Democrats saw the race between Suozzi and Republican Mazi Philip as an opportunity to show how serious the party is about record high migrant crossings at the southern border. could be a winning strategy for Democrats going to the general elections in November.
Republicans have tried to make Suozzi appear to be associated with a group of liberal lawmakers known as the “caucus” who oppose immigration enforcement despite his support for a two-way border deal. But the candidate acknowledged Philip’s opposition to the measure, declaring it beholden to former President Donald Trump and conservative supporters in Congress who oppose the legislation.
“Despite all the lies about Tom Suozzi and crew, despite Tom Suozzi being the godfather of the migrant crisis, despite the lies about Sanctuary Suozzi, despite the dirty tricks, despite Nassau County’s glorified Republican machine, we won,” Suozzi said. victory speech. “It’s time to start working together. So our message is very clear. “Either get on board or get out of the way.”