Former President Donald Trump dominated the immigration portion of Thursday night’s presidential debate. lying and repeating false stories with little or no pushback from President Joe Biden, who is unwilling to deny much of the predictable misinformation about immigration the rival was trading.
For Jeffrey Thielman, who heads the New England International Institute, an organization that helps refugees and immigrants in need of resettlement, the debate was full of moments where Biden “couldn’t articulate what he was thinking very clearly.”
“It’s a concern,” Thielman said, adding that his organization is preparing for the prospect of a second Trump term. He called it “scary” because the organization expects to lose a third of its federal funding if Trump wins.
His concerns echoed those of dozens of Latino and immigrant rights organizations who spoke to NBC News. They expressed frustration at the debate, which has avoided any meaningful solutions and fueled fears about the future of immigration policy.
Biden missed an important opportunity to fact-check his opponent and provide proper context to the issue of immigration and move him away from “dehumanizing rhetoric that falsely portrays immigrants as inherent threats.” Progress, Latino Victory and Voto Latino said in a joint statement Friday.
Throughout the campaign, Trump and other Republicans they closed “Even though recent studies show that immigrants (legal or illegal) are not more likely to commit crimes, and even less likely to commit crimes, several criminal cases involving immigrants have been invoked as a way to push for tougher immigration policies. According to the United States National Institute of Justice, US Department of Justice.
Nayna Gupta, policy director at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said the debate’s focus on individual crimes involving migrants is problematic “to suggest that immigrant communities in general are somewhat dangerous.”
Clarissa Martinez, vice president of the Latino voting initiative at UnidosUS, said the president “missed another good opportunity to get his attention.” the balanced approach that Latinos want to see” when it comes to immigration issues.
He did not bring up the latest immigration actions of the Biden administration It prohibits asylum seekers who cross the border illegally and Expanding protections for undocumented spouses of US citizens and their children.
As Trump has made immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, polls show that Latinos are not just Republicans on immigration, but also the confidence of the democrats in the solution of the issue is decreasing.
“If the other side doesn’t show up to define themselves, your opponent will define you,” Martinez said, citing Biden’s inability to articulate his immigration agenda during the debate.
Stephen Nuño, a political scientist at Northern Arizona University, said Biden and Democrats were clearly struggling to puncture Trump’s immigration rhetoric on display in the debate. Trump accused Biden of allowing “millions” of people into the United States.those from prisons, those from mental hospitals, those from insane asylums, terrorists.”
“What is a reasonable rebuttal to something that is not only false but insane? … Other than saying, ‘That’s not true,'” Nuño said.
Trump also said that migrants are taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs”. what boost did he get?n what these terms even mean.
There’s also no evidence for Trump’s claims: Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that black and Hispanic workers have seen gains under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
Under Trump Unemployment rate for black people In September 2019, it decreased to 5.3% 3.9% for Latin Americans – at that time it reaches a record low. Those rates fell again under Biden, with blacks a new low 4.8% In April 2023 and Hispanics again reached 3.9% unemployment in September 2022.
“Missed Opportunity”
During his debate performance, Trump focused on the economy, crime and immigration — deflecting questions on other topics to focus on a trio of issues that have consistently strengthened his base.
Several times during the discussions Trump lied Biden is “destroying Medicare because all these people are coming in, they’re putting them on Medicare. They put them on social security,” and also say that “millions of people are pouring into our country” and “taking the place of our citizens.”
Trump he also lied“We have a border that is the most dangerous place anywhere in the world – considered the most dangerous place anywhere in the world.”
Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, said, “One thing became clear after last night’s debate: politicians often ignore the facts when discussing the border and immigrant communities. … These mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are not the scapegoats for all the troubles of our nation.”
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, said he doesn’t think the immigration debate has “enlightened everyone.”
“Unfortunately, the discourse has been dominated by misinformation that goes without saying, and that’s a missed opportunity,” he said, adding that crises like affordable housing and the opioid epidemic are being blamed on immigrants. “And that, I think, gives people false hope that if we close the border, it’s going to solve these problems,” he said. “And that’s clearly not the case.”
Thielman pointed to what he sees in his community and the danger posed by Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric.
“There are all kinds of hate groups that come to hotels where we have customers — you know, come and attack our business,” Thielman said. “It’s just going to accelerate, it’s going to crash and it’s going to get worse.”