Views Of U.S. Republican Presidential Contenders Differ On Immigration

When Donald Trump announced that he would run for president in June of 2015 one of the key issues he addressed was illegal immigration declaring he would build a wall on the U.S. southern border and make Mexico pay for it. The Trump campaign was clever enough to realize that many if not most voters were driven by single issues like this one that would decide who they would support. Other such single-issue communities included pro-life advocates, anti-gun-control advocates, white Evangelicals, and anti LGBTQ+ voters. All he had to do was cobble these key issues together to unite their supporters into a winning campaign. Thus his opening salvo in his ultimately successful campaign focused attention on taking a hard-line on immigration.

The Trump Presidency

During his presidency, Trump pursued his hard-line stance, with a particular focus on illegal immigration. He implemented several immigration policies aimed at increasing border security, reducing illegal immigration, and limiting legal immigration. These measures included building a border wall, banning travel from some Muslim-majority countries, ending the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program, and implementing a “Zero Tolerance” policy that led to the prosecution of all adults who illegally crossed the border and which resulted in the separation of children from their families at the border. Trump also tried to end the diversity visa lottery and limit family-based immigration, while promoting a merit-based immigration system.

Trump’s approach to immigration was pretty clear. While it is still early, it may be interesting to take a look at what some of the other Republican candidates for president plan on the issue of immigration to see if they differ from Trump’s approach. At this moment, apart from Trump, there are only a few other Republicans that are leading contenders, one among those who have declared their candidacy and two who appear likely to do so. Those are Nikki Haley who has declared, and Ron DeSantis, and Vice President Mike Pence who have yet to declare their candidacy but appear likely to do so.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Of these other candidates, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appears to be the closest to Trump on immigration. His stance has focused on enforcing existing laws, combating illegal immigration, and reforming the legal immigration system to prioritize highly skilled workers. He has tried to crack down on illegal immigration by sending migrants from the Mexican border up to northern states to pose a hardship on leaders there. In 2019, he signed a law banning so-called “sanctuary cities” that prohibited local law enforcement from cooperating with the federal Immigration Service in Florida. He also passed measures to require employers to use the E-Verify system to verify the immigration status of their employees and pushed for stricter penalties for businesses that hire undocumented immigrants. DeSantis has also called for increased border security and deployed the Florida National Guard to help with border security. DeSantis has expressed support for a merit-based system that prioritizes highly skilled workers. He thinks the current system’s focus on family reunification is overdone. He also advocated reforming the H-1B visa program, an area of concern to Indian and Chinese immigrants in particular, to allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in professional positions.

Governor and U.S. Ambassador Haley

Former South Carolina Governor and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley has been more moderate on immigration than some other Republicans. She has advocated for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, although she has also expressed support for stronger border security measures. Her stance on immigration has focused on fighting illegal immigration and reforming the legal immigration system to prioritize highly skilled workers based on merit. During her governorship, Haley signed a law requiring law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of anyone they stopped or arrested if they suspected they entered the country illegally. She has criticized the current system for being too bureaucratic and for prioritizing family ties over qualifications. She supported President Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban but also supported DACA.

Vice President Pence

While President Trump tried to end the DACA program that protects young illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children, Vice President Pence was involved in negotiations on a potential compromise that would have provided a path to citizenship for them. Pence supported the H-1B visa program, which allows qualified foreign workers to come to the United States to work in certain industries. In contrast, President Trump has criticized the program and sought to limit its use. Both Pence and Trump have defended the government’s “zero tolerance” policy that has led to families being separated at the border, but Pence has expressed concern about the impact of the policy on families and has sought to treat people who cross the border more humanely. Pence advocated limiting the number of refugees allowed into the United States, while Trump tried to drastically cut the number of refugees allowed into the United States, eventually allowing some.

While there are other candidates who have declared and who may still declare, including Asa Hutchinson, Perry Johnson, and Vivek Ramaswamy, this summary paints an early picture of where the current leading Republican contenders stand. Putting the candidates on a spectrum from left to right where left is most mainstream and right is most conservative we might list the candidates as Haley-Pence-DeSantis-Trump. Another way to put it is to conclude that Trump and DeSantis are the hard-line immigration candidates in the race so far and most in line with the Republican base whereas Haley and Pence appear to be more moderate and in line with the electorate. For now, that is where the Republicans are.

It will be interesting to see how the campaign ahead influences these matters. The legal problems of Donald Trump will also likely play a role in all this as well.