Border and immigration: Where Republican candidates stand

(NewsNation) — With an unprecedented surge in migrants coming across the southern border in the last two years, states in the U.S. have had to spend tens of millions of dollars to deal with the escalating crisis.

Pressure has been amped up from both Democrats and Republicans for President Joe Biden’s administration to react to the crisis, and while he recently reversed his stance and gave the go-ahead for a section of the border wall to be completed, some border state governors have been taking matters into their own hands to stem the flow of migrants.

In fiscal year 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered over 2.2 million migrants at the southern border, a significant increase from the 1.9 million encountered the previous year.  

The U.S.-Mexico border region is perilous, with migrants frequently experiencing violence, extortion and other forms of abuse during their journeys, many of them arriving in extreme hardship, having fled violence, poverty and persecution in their home countries. 

The border crisis has become a national issue and remains a central focus for many voters. A NewsNation/DecisionDesk HQ poll in September found voters ranked immigration issues one of the most important issues of the 2024 election, second only to the economy.

Ahead of the 2024 election, NewsNation is committed to covering the issues that matter most to voters so they can make the most informed choices possible at the polls. To that end, you can learn about each candidate’s policy positions on important issues in our voter guide.

Take a look at where the 2024 Republican presidential candidates stand on border and immigration:

Donald Trump

• The former president launched the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, paid for with redirected military funds, Reuters reported.
• Wants to restore his 2019 “Remain in Mexico” program, which required asylum seekers at the U.S. border to wait in Mexico while their cases are processed.
• Wants to end what he called “catch-and-release” and instead detain all migrants who are caught entering the United States without authorization or violating other immigration laws.
• Has expressed interest in deputizing the U.S. National Guard and local law enforcement to help with rapid deportations, according to Reuters.
• Has said he would enact travel bans denying entry to people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”
• Says he will end “birthright” citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents.
• Will try again to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly referred to as DACA.

Ron DeSantis

• While visiting Eagle Pass, Texas, the Florida governor pledged to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, finish construction of the border wall and send U.S. forces into Mexico to fight drug cartels.
• Made headlines last year for sending planes carrying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. His office said the flights were part of the state’s “relocation program” that sends migrants to “sanctuary destinations.”
• In May, he signed Florida’s Senate Bill 1718, which, in part, imposes penalties for those employing undocumented immigrants and bans local governments from issuing ID cards to undocumented immigrants. 

Nikki Haley

• When it comes to the border, the former South Carolina governor is largely aligned with her Republican rivals, offering tough promises on immigration. 
• Called on the United States to “close” the border and defund “sanctuary cities.”
• Suggested a “catch and deport” strategy for the Mexico border crisis, saying, “When you start deporting illegal immigrants, they will stop coming.”
• Proposed taking federal dollars allotted for the IRS and giving them to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to hire 25,000 new agents for the border. 
• Pledged to ease legal pathways for citizenship for new workers as an effort to alleviate labor shortages.
• Proposed re-implementing two Trump-era border policies — the Migrant Protection Protocols, nicknamed “Remain in Mexico,” which forced undocumented immigrants to await their court dates south of the border, and Title 42, the Trump-era expulsion order used to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Vivek Ramaswamy

• The biotech entrepreneur described the southern U.S. border with Mexico as “Swiss cheese” and has criticized the Biden administration for not doing more to stem the flow of fentanyl.
• During a visit to the border, he drew parallels to Israel, calling the flow of illegal immigrants a threat to national security.
• Like some other Republicans, suggests the United States should consider sending troops to the border.
• Similar to Trump, he too suggests ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
• Supports the “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy first enacted under Trump.

Chris Christie

• If elected president, the former New Jersey governor said that his first action would be sending the National Guard to the border.
• Christie has blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the border crisis.
• “What politician doesn’t want to go to the scene of crisis? Only if they created the crisis themselves,” Christie said when Biden and Harris didn’t visit the U.S.-Mexico border last year.
• He has also mocked former President Donald Trump’s stance. At one point, he delivered a mocking impression of Trump claiming he would build a southern border wall at Mexico’s expense and said Trump, more than Biden, was to blame for the country’s failed immigration policy.

NewsNation’s Tyler Wornell, Tom Palmer, Caitlyn Shelton, Katie Smith and Liz Jassin contributed to this report.