West LA Times

A recent study on the 2024 presidential election reveals that immigration ranks as the second most important issue for Trump supporters, with the economy taking the top spot. For Harris supporters, immigration is only the tenth most important concern.

Roger Waldinger, a UCLA sociologist and expert on international migration to the U.S., states that immigration inherently benefits Republicans: "Both Democrats and Republicans agree on the fundamental goals of immigration policy: that migration should be controlled, not open; and that states rightly exclude the many people who would benefit from migration and select those that the citizens and relevant interest groups prefer."

Waldinger explains that while both parties favor control over immigration, Democrats prefer relatively more open policies. This difference has widened as Republicans have become more populist under Trump's influence. Business interests advocating for expanded legal immigration or guest worker policies have lost their sway over Republican officials.

The distinction between immigration policy and immigrant policy is crucial. Waldinger notes: "Democrats and Republicans differ over immigrant policy, namely policies that affect the immigrants who are already in our midst." The advantage shifts to Democrats when immigrant policy issues gain prominence, as seen during controversies like family separation under Trump.

However, current concerns focus on immigration policy due to international events driving mass migration. These situations allow Republican politicians to portray immigrants as threats. Waldinger observes: "In turn, Democrats backtrack and demonstrate that they, too, are intent on controlling borders."

Republicans capitalize by exaggerating threats and inventing non-existent ones. For instance, Vance claims there are 25 million undocumented immigrants when the actual number is closer to 11 million. Trump has made false statements about Haitian immigrants eating pets.

Waldinger serves as director of the UCLA Center for the Study of International Migration. The center will host a webinar titled Immigration and the 2024 Presidential Election tomorrow with UCLA experts Hiroshi Motomura, Margaret Peters, and Gary Segura.