Past political rhetoric on immigration might surprise you.
During a 1980 debate between then-presidential candidates George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, both Republicans expressed openness to immigration over the southern border.
Bush called Mexican migrants "good people, strong people," who deserve the same rights as their neighbors regardless of their immigration status. Reagan said in place of discussions about a fence, offer work permits, open the border both ways and allow people to move freely.
In 2006, then-President George W. Bush urged members of Congress to be respectful in immigration debates and "not to pit one group of people against another."
On the other hand, Democratic President Bill Clinton pushed hard-line immigration enforcement at the border and in the workplace.
Today, the rhetoric has largely flipped, with Republicans known as the immigrant enforcers and Democrats seen as more compassionate.
In May, Republican leadership killed a bipartisan border deal, calling the legislation a "political stunt" and not tough enough on the crime coming across the southern border.
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Crime, drugs, terrorism and an "invasion" are how they characterized migrants, echoing the dehumanizing claims made by former President Donald Trump.
But behind the changing rhetoric, one thing has remained true: Immigrants don't commit more crime than native-born Americans. In fact, decades of data suggests the opposite.
A 2016 study published in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice looked at 40 years of data showing immigrants, on average, commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.
A 2018 study from the Wiley Online Library looked at undocumented immigration and violent crime and found a negative correlation, meaning undocumented people commit less crime than native-born people.
And a study in Texas published in 2019 found immigrants were 47% less likely to be convicted of a crime.
Most recently, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed 150 years of data, finding immigrants are less likely to commit crime, less likely to be incarcerated, and less likely to be involved in violent crime.
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As for the claims about large amounts of drugs being smuggled over borders by migrants? Also not true.
Data analyzed by the Cato Institute shows that in 2022, 89% of convicted fentanyl traffickers were U.S. citizens. And in 2023, 93% of seizures took place at legal crossing points.
Political party sentiments shifted in the 2000s. Democrats became more open, in line with the rhetoric we hear today, and Republicans doubled down on enforcement. The divide widened, and that killed a 2006 immigration reform bill.
As he left office, President George W. Bush warned his party about the future, saying immigrants were coming from more parts of the world and voters were becoming less White. He said the Republican party needed to change their image on immigration and "be compassionate and broad minded."
Immigration policy is complex and the current system in the United States is designed for a different generation. The last significant legislation to make it through Congress was in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan.
Both parties agree that change is needed, but to do that they'll have to find common ground, even through the rhetoric.
