Memo says Trump immigration crackdown may open an avenue for Democrats
Key Takeaways
- •The memo found that two tested immigration messages each raised Democratic support by about 2 percentage points.
- •Winning Jobs Narrative Action argues Democrats should present a proactive and commonsense immigration message instead of relying only on criticism of Trump.
- •The recommended approach emphasizes immigrants’ contributions to jobs, services, taxes, and community life.
- •One message tested contrasted immigrants paying taxes with billionaires growing wealthier under Trump.
- •Another strong message compared cuts to food and health care aid with higher spending on ICE.
President Donald Trump may have inadvertently given Democrats an opening on one of the signature issues that helped propel him back to the White House: immigration.
That is according to a new memo obtained exclusively by The Bulwark from the Democratic-aligned group Winning Jobs Narrative Action. The memo found that two immigration messages tested with voters each increased support for Democrats by about 2 percentage points, suggesting the issue may be more fluid for some voters than the Republican campaign narrative implies.
“They think it’s extreme. They don’t want to see masked police taking people in the streets and killing American citizens,” Steve Pierce, executive director of WJN Action, told The Bulwark about working-class voters.
“They’re not in favor of that,” he added.
Pierce said anger alone would not be enough for Democrats.
“The one thing the research said was we have to have a proactive commonsense way forward,” Pierce told The Bulwark. “For working-class people, for an immigration skeptic, the extreme stuff pushes them towards us, but we have to offer an alternative.”
The memo argues Democrats should emphasize immigrants’ economic importance to American workers and communities rather than only criticizing Trump’s crackdown. That approach is aimed at connecting immigration to everyday concerns such as jobs, services and local community life, rather than treating it only as a border or enforcement debate.
According to The Bulwark’s Friday report, that message should stress “immigrants’ contributions and economic interdependence,” and show how immigrant labor is “essential to the functioning of labor jobs services, and community life.”
Two of the strongest messages identified in the memo highlighted that immigrants pay taxes while billionaires grow wealthier under Trump, and compared cuts to food and health care assistance with increased spending on ICE, the report said.
Pierce said Democrats should not simply try to sound tougher than Republicans on immigration.
“People who care about that will vote for the Republican,” he said, arguing that Republicans “have established bona fides and you’re Johnny-come-lately.”
