Trump and Biden Tangle over Immigration Policy as 2024 Election Nears

Immigration has become one of the premier issues between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden as the presidential election draws near. In a competitive rebuke, Trump assailed President Joe Biden on the matter of a surge in migrants from countries such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. He called for the reinstatement of his hardline immigration policies, which included stepped-up deportations and strict border security measures.
By contrast, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have struck a more measured tone in their emphasis on migrants' avenues into the country through legal means, as well as the very basics of why people migrate. Biden's policies include temporary programs to help migrants in countries facing severe crises, along with efforts to cooperate with regional partners to manage migration flows. The administration also focuses on creating pathways for asylum seekers and ensuring humane treatment at the border.
One of Biden's biggest immigration programs has bestowed temporary protections on migrants from those countries, providing legal status and working permits to those fleeing political instability, economic hardship, or violence. The move has kept many in the country legally, but also sparked outrage from Republicans- including Trump- who said the move encourages more illegal immigration and burdens the country's resources.
Trump, meanwhile, pushes for a more hardline return to "Remain in Mexico" policies, higher deportation rates, and further construction of border walls. He has insisted that Biden's lax policies have caused chaos on the southern border and need to be quickly reversed to prevent surges of migrants. That's because Trump's hardline stance on immigration was central to his first presidential campaign and remains one of his biggest second-term issues.
But the immigration debate reveals deeper contrasts between Trump and Biden's overall visions for the country. Where Biden pursues an immigration system reform through legal pathways and humanitarian coverage, Trump still clings to his call for an enforcement-heavy approach. Immigration policy will be one of the starkest areas of conflict in the 2024 campaign, reflecting deep divisions between their respective bases of support.
With each candidate bringing drastically different ideas in regard to immigration, the voters will have a choice of which way to go with U.S. immigration policy. The result of the 2024 election will show whether the country is going to move further in the direction it is or if it will turn around and head back to stricter policies under the Trump administration.