Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries met Wednesday with Latino Democratic lawmakers to sharpen the celebration’s technique on immigration as President Trump barrels forward with a large crackdown that features utilizing the navy to safe the border and threats to deport hundreds of thousands.
The Brooklyn lawmaker and his management crew met with the Hispanic Caucus to forge Democratic unity behind a message of help for tightening border safety whereas resisting Trump’s controversial deportation plan and his effort to finish birthright citizenship.
“We had a great discussion about priorities for the American people, including making sure we secure the border, fix our broken immigration system, stand up for Dreamers and farm workers,” Jeffries informed reporters as he left the assembly on Capitol HIll.
An American flag and Mexican flag fly alongside the US-Mexico border in El Paso. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP through Getty Pictures)
Jeffries and different Democrats are looking for to stroll a tightrope on immigration by shifting the celebration to the suitable on border safety, which many celebration leaders see as a significant albatross, whereas sustaining a unified stance in opposition to Trump’s mass deportation crackdown.
Some reasonable Democrats, together with a couple of members of the Hispanic Caucus from border states, would love the liberty to vote with Trump’s Republicans on some standard immigration-related measures, just like the GOP-sponsored Laken Riley Act authorizing deportation of undocumented immigrants arrested for shoplifting and different petty crimes.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a south Texas reasonable, warned celebration leaders to not inform him methods to vote on controversial measures.
“We’re within striking distance of winning the majority back,” Ocasio-Cortez stated.
Many progressives, together with some Latinos from deep-blue city districts like Ocasio-Cortez, need Jeffries to steer the celebration in a way more aggressive pushback in opposition to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Jeffries, who stands to turn out to be Home Speaker if Democrats regain management of the Home in 2026, seems to see Trump’s financial insurance policies and deliberate tax cuts for the rich to be simpler cudgels to make use of in opposition to the brand new Trump administration.
He replied to a query about immigration over the weekend on “Meet the Press” by altering the topic to Democrats deal with the economic system.
On Wednesday, he pressured that the assembly with the Hispanic lawmakers was not solely about immigration but in addition geared toward working to “drive down the high cost of living for everyday Americans.”
Many Democrats consider Trump’s anti-immigration message was a key driver of his surprisingly decisive win over Kamala Harris within the November election.
However they consider Trump might lose public help if his crackdown goes too far, particularly if he creates chaos on farms, manufacturing facility flooring and in cities by rounding up hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
