Democrats grapple with the right way to talk about Biden’s immigration policies

Democratic efforts to triangulate between liberal and conservative immigration and border security policies have reignited an ongoing debate within the party.

Laura Grant has been keeping tabs on what Congress has done – or not done – to overhaul US immigration and border policy. The 47-year-old insurance agent said she’s concerned about the deteriorating situation at the border. The Phoenix resident wants a more streamlined process for migrants but said she doesn’t trust either party to solve the issue. Democrats didn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation, she said. And Republicans rejected a bipartisan border security bill she supported. “I just don’t know what their agenda is anymore,” Grant told CNN during a recent interview at her home here. “They’re for it. They’re not for it. So we’re just kind of in the middle now.” Ahead of the November election, President Joe Biden and many Democratic campaigns are hoping to chip away at what polls have shown is a Republican advantage on immigration, particularly in battleground states such as Arizona. The centerpiece of Democrats’ approach has been the bipartisan border bill. In February, Republicans blocked a border deal and foreign aid package despite demanding last year that Democrats pair border security with Ukraine aid. The border security legislation, which failed for a second time in the Senate last week in a vote GOP senators called a political stunt, has given Democrats a concrete example to point to as they seek to portray Republicans as unwilling to address the issue. But the strategy, an effort to triangulate between liberal and conservative policies to appeal directly to results-driven voters, has also reignited an ongoing debate within the Democratic coalition over how to address migration and the border.