All of this has put Biden at odds with his party’s progressive wing at a time when fractures in the Democratic coalition are already deepening over the war in Gaza. It’s also a reflection of where Americans are on the issue of immigration.
Biden’s sweeping new asylum restrictions, explained
Biden's transparently political attack on asylum put little daylight between him and Trump.
Voters have consistently ranked immigration among the most important issues facing the country, and the share of Americans who want to see immigration levels decrease is at a decade-high. Republicans like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been busing migrants to blue cities, have succeeded in weaponizing the issue against Democrats: Biden’s performance on the border has consistently dragged down his approval ratings.
Centrist Democrats, including Biden, have consequently become hawkish on the border, at the advice of Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) in a widely circulated February memo — and at the expense of Americans better understanding what’s happening at the border and why.
“This is a political statement so that [Biden] can say I'm tough on the border and try to deflect all the criticism that Republicans are throwing at him,” Yale-Loehr said. “Biden can at least say, ‘I tried.’”