Democratic strongholds are struggling to keep helping the surge of migrants in their cities and states — and it’s sparking anxiety in the party about potential fallout heading into the 2024 election cycle, Politico reports.
New York Mayor Eric Adams’ tussle with the White House over an influx of migrants from red states has famously soured his relationship with President Joe Biden. But he’s far from the only blue state official pushing back, as public pressure and budget concerns rise in Illinois, Massachusetts and beyond. “You’re hearing sentiments that are not dissimilar from what you would hear at [Donald] Trump rallies where asylum-seekers are referred to as illegals,” Chicago Alderperson Andre Vasquez, who heads the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said in an interview. “There are people who are saying ‘the Democratic Party isn’t doing anything for us’ and ‘look at what we’re stuck with.’” While Republicans like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been demonized by the left for sending people to Democrat-led cities and states, overwhelmed officials in those blue jurisdictions are now also moving new arrivals and slamming the Biden administration for not doing enough to help. The administration has responded by picking up part of the tab by allowing some jurisdictions, like Denver, to use FEMA dollars to help pay for transportation of migrants who ask to go to other states. The tumultuous situation — and building frustration — is shining a spotlight on the glaring federal void on immigration policy and sparking anxiety among Democrats about the potential fallout heading into the 2024 election cycle. Biden took a step last week to ease the pressure on cities by making it easier for roughly 500,000 Venezuelan migrants to apply for work permits that would, in turn, allow them to secure their own housing.
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