As the 2024 general election draws closer, President Joe Biden has faced growing criticism from progressive Democrats who helped him win in 2020.
Tensions between the White House and progressives have already grown from Biden's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but with Republicans pushing for more border security, progressives are now also focusing their attention on the president's immigration policy.
For Biden to get additional aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, he must figure out a way to appease Republicans in Congress whose support for Ukraine is waning while concern over the U.S.-Mexico border is growing.
Republicans made it clear that in order to think about supporting more spending on Ukraine, there would need to be major change in immigration policy. Negotiations over a border security package have begun, with talks of a potential revival of a pandemic-era temporary expulsion authority and a crackdown on immigration parole, which is a process that allows migrants to enter the U.S. temporarily under extraordinary circumstances.
Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, warned that Biden could lose a major part of his base if he does not focus on the needs of progressives.
"It's always been challenging for us to pay attention to our base," Jayapal, who is chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told Punchbowl News.
"The base of the Democratic Party—young people, folks of color, immigrants—that was the coalition that allowed Joe Biden to get elected....This coalition is splitting apart. We need the president and his campaign to pay attention to what is happening on the ground."
Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, criticized Democrats for negotiating border security in exchange for Ukraine aid.
"This is just really bad negotiating on the part of Democrats," Casar told Punchbowl News. "Would Democrats give away abortion rights in exchange for Ukraine money?...Why would Democrats give Trump-style immigration policy in exchange for Ukraine money?"
Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who serves as the deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday: "I believe asylum seekers should be treated with humanity. I reject immigration policies that dehumanize migrants, turn away asylum seekers & violate international law. People flee to our border, clinging to the belief the US is a refuge. We must welcome those facing threats, as I was as a child refugee."
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Biden's campaign team via email for comment.
Meanwhile, many moderate and vulnerable Democrats believe that the illegal crossings of migrants at the southern border is a genuine crisis. There was a record number of 2.2 million illegal border crossings in the 2022 fiscal year, and in 2023, the number again has surpassed 2 million.
"The White House should take the pulse of the public. Just take a look at what's going on. They want border security. We've got too many people coming," Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, told Punchbowl News. "They don't want to do any of this."
Manchin, who has called for a state of emergency at the southern border, suggested to senators in both parties who are in negotiations over immigration policy to expand the issuing of work visas so migrants can help fill open jobs in America.
Newsweek reached out to Jayapal via phone and Casar, Omar and Manchin via email for comment. Manchin's office referred Newsweek to his efforts explained above.
The White House has pinned the immigration problem on Republicans, claiming that Biden has offered reform proposals that the GOP has rejected.
"Republicans refuse to deal with this issue," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the White House briefing Wednesday. "It's been almost three years since [Biden] put forth that legislation."
David Axelrod, a political analyst and former adviser to President Barack Obama, warned that Biden could be in trouble in his reelection campaign.
"You know, job approval down, ratings generally down, most of the comparatives with [former President Donald] Trump...not good," Axelrod said in a recent episode of his podcast, Hacks on Tap.
Axelrod's comments were referencing a recent poll from The Wall Street Journal that found Biden with a job approval rating of 37 percent, a low point for his presidency.
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Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
