The second 2024 Republican presidential debate is set to take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California’s Simi Valley on September 27. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, drug executive Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and impeached former President Donald Trump have so far qualified to take the stage, though Trump is likely to skip the evening, as he did when candidates first took the stage in Wisconsin last month.
Here’s what we heard from the stage in Milwaukee the last time: While immigrants are the backbone of the state’s famous dairy industry, the first debate platformed disinformation, extremism, and wanton cruelty directed at immigrant communities.
Even after dangerous “invasion” rhetoric has resulted in a body count in communities like El Paso, Buffalo and Pittsburgh, both the Republican candidates and Fox News moderator Brett Baier platformed deadly “invasion” conspiracy theory on a national scale. We noted the following day that Ramaswamy was one of the worst purveyors of this debunked theory, prompting MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan to note, “Ramaswamy uses what was once only a neo-Nazi talking point, referring to immigration at the southern border as an ‘invasion.’”
Republicans know perfectly well that it’s largely U.S. citizens abetting the fentanyl crisis, yet they cynically continued equating the fentanyl crisis as an immigration issue. In his relentless effort to both define himself as an nativist extremist and attempt to save his flailing presidential campaign, Gov. DeSantis was among candidates beating the war drums with Mexico over the issue. Because nothing says “I’m serious about solving this issue” like threatening war with our neighbor and key trading partner – rhetoric that will likely only exacerbate the problem.
Thankfully, there was plenty of push-back to the chest-thumping. “The fentanyl is coming through the ports of entry and airports, not that anyone cares about the truth here,” MSNBC’s Chris Hayes stated. “In 2021, U.S. citizens accounted for nearly 87% of fentanyl traffickers,” tweeted national labor union SEIU. “Instead of scapegoating people seeking safety at our borders, Republicans should focus on real and humane solutions to our inhumane immigration system.”
Here’s what we didn’t hear last time: GOP candidates showed they remained deeply unserious about fixing our long-broken immigration system, putting forward no workable solutions.
Republicans have been on a rapid descent on immigration since the Senate passed a bipartisan reform bill a decade ago – and candidates in Milwaukee gave no indication that would change if any of them took office in January 2025. There was zero talk about creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants despite their contributions to the nation.
In DeSantis’ Florida, immigrants have been pivotal in aiding in hurricane recovery. His anti-immigrant S.B. 1718 law has chased many of these workers away.
And while Trump wasn’t present on stage that night, immigrants have been essential workers at his family’s winery and worked so closely to him at his golf clubs that former Bedminster housekeeper and asylum-seeker Victorina Morales used to clean the bronzer off his shirt collars. Undocumented workers also helped clear the way for the site where Trump Tower now stands and helped build the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. Trump’s exploitation of undocumented labor has been so pervasive, it’s been described as a “pipeline of undocumented workers.”
If Republicans have actually united on one thing when it comes to immigration, it’s a full-on embrace of nativism and dangerous conspiracies that attempt to frame individuals and families coming to our nation as international drug traffickers and invaders that need to be violently fought. Like Rep. Joaquin Castro assessed, “Republicans have gone from Self Deportation to Build A Wall to Invade Mexico in just over a decade.”
“None of their plans or policies would move us closer to real solutions for 21st-century migration or deliver the long overdue legislative fix for our broken immigration system needs but that Republicans continue to block,” America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas said. “Instead, it’s a depressing example of how Republicans have weaponized these issues as part of their ongoing assault on our inclusive democracy.”
What should we expect at the upcoming debate at the Reagan Library? More of the same.
While President Ronald Reagan acted both administratively and legislatively to protect millions of undocumented immigrants, don’t expect any of the GOP candidates that take the stage at his library to change course on their nativism. They’ll also be debating in a state where immigrant essential workers have made the agricultural industry and overall economy what it is today. In fact, if California were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the entire world. But, of course, GOP candidates prefer a crop of violent rhetoric, not a crop of food put on our tables by hardworking immigrant essential workers.
If candidates do namecheck Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 – the landmark bill that legalized nearly 3 million immigrants – they’ll likely dismiss it simplistically as a mass amnesty that did not halt all future migration from Latin America or the world.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee’s tweet celebrating a number of Reagan’s speeches ahead of the debate completely brushes over his immigration record. But it’s important to note that what Republicans are fighting over isn’t border security, it’s who can be the most anti-immigrant and aligned with white nationalist rhetoric. That’s currently the drive behind the House GOP’s reckless push to shut down the federal government over immigration, America’s Voice Political Director Zachary Mueller writes. “That is the subtext of the shutdown: making America white again.”
This month, the Reagan Library also joined nearly all other presidential libraries in signing a historic letter stating that “[c]ivility and respect in political discourse, whether in an election year or otherwise, are essential.” While the letter received criticism for some bothsidesism and not directly addressing the extremism of the GOP – such as the violent and deadly attempt to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election – it’s still notable because candidates will be onstage at the Reagan Library completely ignoring the advice of the Reagan Library. “Our elected officials must lead by example and govern effectively in ways that deliver for the American people,” the letter states. Don’t hold your breath.
America’s Voice has previously prepared a number of resources relevant to the first GOP debate and beyond, including a media guide providing context for reporters and analysts covering the debates and campaign trail and a series of blogs that lay out what you need to know about each candidate’s views on immigration and the reality that the entire GOP presidential field is embracing and mainstreaming anti-immigrant policies and politics.
