Harris will defend Biden's tighter immigration process

Significance

Polls show many voters regard irregular migration as a major concern. Republicans see the issue of immigration as a significant weakness for the Harris campaign, even though government statistics show that a change in policy by the Biden administration has substantially reduced unauthorised crossings on the southern border.

Impacts

• Immigration is a voter concern not only in the two southwestern battleground states but also in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
• Harris will emphasise her prosecution of cross-border drug smugglers and people traffickers when she was California’s attorney general.
• Talk of “mass deportations” by the Trump campaign is raising fears among immigrants in the country legally but without permanent status.