It could be seen as the first debate for the US presidency in 2024. Two lecterns, two candidates, and a distance of 300 miles—a political cosmos, in fact.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden spent Thursday at the US-Mexico border, providing a striking example of how important the immigration debate has become to the political race. The official presidential debates this year are far from guaranteed, so these rivalry visits may be the closest you’ll get.

And it revealed as much about the options available to voters as any heated exchange on the debate platform. Biden arrived to advance legislation and make a mental pitch. Trump campaigned on instilling fear and appealing to the instincts. It will undoubtedly be a close call.

Republicans, who have forced Democrats to play on their turf as the immigration debate in Washington moves more to the right, have won because they were at the border at all.

Since Biden took office in January 2021, border crossings have been at or near record highs; but, they have decreased so far this year, a move that officials attribute to seasonal patterns and greater enforcement by the Mexican government. Democrats, faced with the sight of migrants sleeping in police stations and airline hangars, are more willing than ever to adopt limitations.

Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, who initiated Operation Lone Star, a program that involved the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops, concertina wire, and river buoys to discourage illegal immigration, joined the former president. This action resulted in legal and political standoffs with the White House.

Additionally, Abbott was the one who pledged to “take the border to President Biden” by busing thousands of migrants to communities run by Democrats. This was a deviously brilliant approach that nationalized a problem that, according to polls, voters are now more concerned about than inflation.

Trump went all out in his public remarks, appealing to racist inclinations in ways that served as a sobering reminder of the election’s high stakes. He declared, “This is a Joe Biden invasion,” stressing that “men of a certain age” were traveling from Syria, China, Iran, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “I think they look like warriors.”

The previous president, who supports “ideological screening” and travel restrictions for immigrants, pulled statements out of thin air, saying things like, “By the time he leaves office, there may be 15 million or 18 million.” A sizable number arriving from Congolese prisons. There are languages entering our nation that not even a single person speaks. The languages are genuinely alien to us.

Trump proceeded to outline the purported transgressions committed by undocumented immigrants, asserting that Biden bears “the blood of countless innocent victims” on his hands. It is reasonable to suppose that a procession of the families of the victims will accompany a number of gratuitous and graphic tales recounted during this summer’s Republican National Convention.

Biden Got Legislative Win

With regard to this matter, Biden, who has been defensive in recent months, had quite a different goal in mind. In order to give Biden a legislative win, he intended to disgrace House Republicans for turning down a bipartisan attempt to tighten immigration laws after Trump instructed them not to adopt it.

Trying to put the onus on Trump, he said, “Join me – or I’ll join you – in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill.” Together, we can accomplish it. It’s the most stringent, effective, and efficient border security law the nation has ever seen. Thus, rather than manipulating the situation for political gain, how about we just come together and resolve it?

Actually, though, this growing problem would have been difficult for any president to handle. For decades, Congress has been immobilized by this subject. Trump dismantled important agencies. Climate change, international conflict, instability, and cartels that view immigration as a source of income have created an ideal environment for Trump’s nativist-populist discourse to dominate the discourse.

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