By David Lauter
WASHINGTON — For a decade, starting with President Obama‘s reelection and accelerating during Donald Trump‘s years in office, Democrats moved to the left on immigration issues, downplaying border enforcement and advocating for the rights of migrants to seek asylum in the U.S.
For a time, the public moved with them. The harsh enforcement measures pushed by Trump, especially the separation of children from their families at the border, generated an intense backlash among voters.
Polls during Trump’s tenure found a steady increase in Americans who favored more immigration and legalization for those who had entered the U.S. without papers.
As the number of migrants crossing the southern border has risen to record levels, public support for immigration has gone down, including among Democrats.
Republicans have pummeled President Biden on the issue, and it has divided Democrats.
The Democratic response, from the White House on down, has been to shift toward advocating stronger border enforcement.
Read more at: LA Times