President Joe Biden is expected to go on the offensive on immigration during Thursday’s debate, pointing to his recent executive actions and casting his Republican rival Donald Trump’s policies as extreme, according to a source familiar.
On the eve of the presidential debate, the Biden administration is already trying to project confidence on border security, citing a recent drop in border crossings since Biden’s action clamping down on asylum access.
Since Biden took office, his administration has grappled with record migration—often forced to respond to multiple border crises. But in recent months, the White House has tried to take advantage of a brief reprieve from one of the most politically fraught issues Biden faces in his reelection campaign—and this time, go on the offensive.
While Biden advisers don’t see immigration as the defining issue for them, Biden is prepared to tackle the issue when raised, including pointing to actions taken by the administration and the border security bill that Trump tanked earlier this year.
Officials already took a victory lap over a significant decline in border crossings that, they argued, is tied to Biden’s executive action, while continuing to slam Republicans for not moving on immigration reform.
But Biden’s immigration agenda doesn’t appear to have convinced voters so far. Biden has continued to lag Trump—who has made immigration a cornerstone of his campaign—on border security in polls, and his team is anticipating the controversial issue coming up at Thursday’s debate. CNN previously reported that allies have urged Trump to focus immigration, among other issues, during the debate.
In recent days, Biden allies have shared with the campaign ways the president can gain the upper hand on immigration in anticipation of Trump’s attacks on the debate stage and urged the campaign to tackle the issue head on.
The Biden campaign has repeatedly sought to draw a stark contrast between the two candidates— often pointing to Trump’s controversial family separation policy, which campaign officials believe, still resonates with voters, and serves as a reminder of what occurred during Trump’s presidency.
