Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border were spotted wearing shirts that read "Biden, please let us in!" - Photo by Getty Images
WASHINGTON D.C. (WSAU) – Migrants on the way to the U.S. are weighing in on who they hope wins re-election this November as polls from the country continue to show a tight race between President Joe Biden and former President Trump.
According to a report from The Free Press, Daniel Cortez, a 45-year-old mechanic from Honduras, and Richard Betancourt, a 46-year-old pipe fitter from Venezuela, are just two migrants in a long line of individuals waiting months to schedule their interview to enter the U.S. and hope President Biden wins reelection this November; otherwise, they fear they’ll be turned away by President-elect Trump.
“I want Biden to win,” Cortez told the outlet, which was quickly agreed with by Betancourt, saying, “If it’s Trump, it doesn’t matter how much I work or want to work. They won’t let me in.”
Another migrant, Alejandra Falcon, 26, further added, “If he (Biden) doesn’t win, I can’t imagine what will happen.”
This is not the first time in recent years that migrants have pledged support for the President’s reelection campaign after dozens of migrants showed up at the U.S. border in Tijuana in 2021 wearing shirts saying, “Biden, please let us in!” In the early days of his presidency, Biden rescinded a law known as Title 42, which would’ve allowed Border Patrol agents or ICE agents to turn away migrants at the border, but now only a “credible fear” to return home is all that’s needed for an individual entering the U.S. to be given a court date that could be up to 10 years away and allowed in.
Since Biden assumed office in 2021, an estimated 7.3 million migrants have entered the US illegally, which is higher than the combined populations of 36 states, according to Fox News. Wisconsin is one of those states, and communities across the state such as La Crosse, Whitewater, and Madison have seen the effect of the crisis firsthand as the capital city spent $700,000 in ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funds in quarter four of 2023 to provide migrants with free food, bus passes, utilities, and gas to get around, despite the bill not allowing funds to be spent on noncitizens and most migrants not having a license to drive in the U.S. The city of Whitewater also wrote President Biden a letter earlier this year pleading for financial aid due to the crisis becoming a “critical humanitarian issue” and “our city needs government assistance in order to continue to serve our entire community properly.”
The vast majority of U.S. voters now rank immigration as their top concern, with 84% of respondents considering it to be a major or somewhat serious issue, according to a February Monmouth poll. According to a Gallup poll taken last week, around 48 percent of those polled are “a great deal” concerned about the impact of illegal immigration, up from 41 percent in March 2023. The poll also revealed that 43 percent of individuals are concerned about the possibility of future terrorist strikes, up from 36 percent this time last year.
As it currently stands, the latest Wall Street Journal poll shows former President Trump ahead of Biden in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, while Biden holds a lead in Wisconsin.
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