Tough talk revives immigration issue as vote nears

WASHINGTON — It had the ingredients of a President Trump campaign speech: dangerous immigrants, attacks on Democratrun cities, even a mention of “America First.”

But it was Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announcing a routine, and relatively minor, enforcement operation Wednesday at a Washington news conference.

“It’s not about Republicans, it’s not about Democrats, it’s not about elections,” Wolf insisted, twice, to reporters.

Yet it was the third time in a week the administration rolled out actions to appear tough on immigration, reviving an issue that was at the heart of Trump’s successful 2016 campaign, but largely on the back burner in the current one. And it added to charges from Trump critics that DHS and other agencies have become overtly politicized under this president.

DHS, which was created to improve America’s resistance to external threats following the Sept. 11 attacks, has been a tool of key Trump administration policies from the start — enforcing stricter immigration policies, building the border wall and, most notoriously, separating families apprehended trying to enter the United States.

Its political role has increased in recent months, with the decision to deploy DHS tactical agents to Portland, Ore., to confront protesters outside the federal courthouse without the consent of local authorities as part of Trump’s “law and order” campaign theme.

“His modus operandi for the vast majority of the administration has been to use DHS to benefit him politically,” said Miles Taylor, who served as the agency’s chief of staff from 201719. “Now, he’s trying to use the department to benefit himself electorally.”

Few issues are as important to Trump’s political base as immigration. His gettough approach and promise to build a border wall were cornerstones of his 2016 campaign. But attention to the issue has ebbed in the 2020 race, as Trump has focused more on unrest in Democratic cities, leftist activists and other matters.

But the effort to rekindle the antiimmigration fervor has gained steam.

In recent weeks, the administration has announced time limits for students to complete their studies, requirements for additional biometrics and even DNA in some cases to get immigration benefits and a new rule for immigrant sponsors to submit years of credit reports, bank statements and other financial information.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a component of DHS, posted five billboards across Pennsylvania, a battleground state, with images of migrants charged with criminal offenses whom the agency was seeking to arrest. The campaign is rare, if not unprecedented.

Last week, the administration announced it has proposed further slashing the number of refugees the United States accepts to a record low in the coming year. On Tuesday, DHS and the Labor Department said new rules would significantly reduce the number of visas issued to skilled foreign workers, a move welcomed by groups that favor cutting legal immigration into the United States.

Then Wolf followed up with the news conference to announce the enforcement operation — a fairly routine operation that resulted in a fairly low number of arrests.

“It’s a worrying abuse of power,” said Taylor, who has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election.