Demystifying Immigrations As A Campaign Issue

By Norman Franklin

Norman Franklin

“There is an invasion on our southern border,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R.TX, belts out to a crowd of uninformed enthusiasts. According to Cruz, 11.5 million illegals have entered the country under Joe Biden.

Immigration is a polarizing issue. Politics weaponized. Candidates traffic in misinformation, exaggerated numbers, and character assassinations of the immigrant for political expediency.

The jeremiad against immigration is viral. Malicious rhetoric spews out of the mouths of candidates with moral impunity. It need not be factual, just ring the bell, it resonates with the fear ravaged crowds.

Incitant words, phrases and hyperbolized numbers of border crossings fans the fear that characterizes the political climate of America. “They are taking over our country.”

The language, the numbers, the targeted crowds are purposed to feed the growing mistrust of immigrants. Undocumented immigrants may vote in the November election, some candidates claim. It has, since 1996, been illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections.

Invasion invokes a sense of alarm and urgency. The phrase dehumanizes the immigrants, makes them an anonymous hostile force instead of individuals or families seeking a better life. Most are decent, desperate people, not criminals, rapists, or terrorist gang members. Eric Hovde, Wisconsin Senate candidate, blames Biden’s open border policies for an increase in fentanyl deaths. Emboldened drug cartels have flooded the streets with the deadly menace, over 100,000 American deaths every year.

The Center for Disease Control and Preventions estimates drug overdose deaths at nearly 108,000. The number of opioid deaths, including fentanyl, was approximately 75,000. Far less than the fear-flagging 100,000 deaths annually Hovde pushes.

Border officials encountered 11 million migrants attempting to enter the U.S. in the five-year period between October 2019 and June 2024. These encounters don’t necessarily reflect the actual number of attempted crossings. Some people make multiple attempts to enter during the same year. These may be double counted.

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report, the higher number of border encounters may validate that patrol operations are working more efficiently. As of June, CBP data reports 1.44 million border encounters in 2024.

There was a social media post that claimed 51 million illegals entered the country under the Biden-Harris open border policies.

There is no ‘open border policy.’ Steven Camorota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, estimates that the flow of illegal immigrants may be more accurately fixed at 6 million.

U.S. Custom and Border Protection experts report that the number of illegal immigrants living in the country, ranges between 11 million and 17 million. A cumulative count for multiple administrations.

Be cautious of officials and political candidates, regardless of party affiliation, who will exploit and dehumanize people, and traffic in hyperbolic misinformation for political expediency.

Put some value in your vote and facts behind your decision.