Republicans lean into Trump’s border message during a convention night focused on immigration

Republican National Convention highlights immigration as a key issue, focusing on Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and border policies.

Immigration took center stage as the Republican National Convention resumed on July 16, with speakers spotlighting a key element of former President Donald Trump ’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015.

Among speakers slated for Tuesday night were families who've been impacted by violent crime — part of a GOP strategy to link crime to border policies. They include the family of Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman whom prosecutors say was killed and raped by a fugitive from El Salvador and whose story has been frequently highlighted by Trump on the campaign trail.

Immigration has long been one of Trump’s banner issues, as he has criticized the unprecedented number of migrants entering the country illegally through the U.S. border with Mexico. The numbers of unauthorized crossings have fallen abruptly after President Joe Biden issued a rule suspending many asylum claims at the border.

At rallies and other campaign events, Trump has pointed to examples of migrants who committed heinous crimes and has blamed migration for the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl, even though federal data suggests many people smuggling fentanyl across the border are U.S. citizens. He has vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric has also strayed into talking points not backed by evidence, including unfounded claims that migrants are entering the country to vote in the 2024 election.

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House majority leader, made that statement in his remarks, declaring, “Biden and Harris want illegals to vote now that they’ve opened up the border.”

Senate candidates who were addressing the convention Tuesday not only blamed Biden for the number of migrants crossing the border, but just as often faulted Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Republicans have increasingly focused on amid speculation that she could replace Biden as the Democratic nominee after the president's poor debate performance.