Democrats have an opportunity to position themselves as the ascendant party for years to come. But that assumes they don’t commit their usual blunders, which they appear to be doing right now on immigration with an “Abolish ICE” campaign.
Abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is not a message the mainstream will buy. In fact, it plays right into Trump’s tweeting hands as Democrats’ weakness on border security.
In the 2016 election 35% of voters identified themselves as conservative while only 26% said they were liberal. The largest group 39% called themselves moderates. Forming a liberal-moderate alliance is a necessity for Democrats.
Immigration policies should strive to keep the flow of illegal immigration at manageable levels. This requires strong border enforcement and an acknowledgment that the law must have a meaning.
The Democrats’ problem with their ICE campaign is more one of messaging than substance. While the campaign has multiple strands and considerable ambiguities, it does not appear to support ending border enforcement altogether.
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