President Trump is taking charge on immigration with less than a week to go before the midterm elections, after nearly two years in office that showed many conservatives that Congress is incapable of handling the issue.
Trump seized on the approach of a caravan of several thousand people headed toward the southern U.S. border by promising they wouldn’t enter the U.S., deploying thousands of troops to back up that pledge and vowing to unilaterally make it harder for people to seek asylum.
Republicans see a clear message: Trump will do things on his own when Congress fails.
“He’s doing everything in his power to curtail illegal immigration despite the obstacles in Congress and the laws on the books,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist. “Overall, this caravan, etc., is a winning issue for Trump, and the reason why you know this was until we got birthright citizenship, the Democrats were ducking and not talking about this.”
[Also read: Michael Avenatti: Democrats will suffer Dukakis-level blowout if they stay soft on immigration]
Trump announced he would send 5,200 troops to the border to back up border officers and threatened he could send as many as 15,000.
“We’re getting prepared for the caravan, folks, you don’t have to worry about that,” Trump said during a rally in Fort Myers, Fla., on Wednesday. “They got a lot of rough people in those caravans. They are not angels. They are not.”
Trump also revealed he was planning an executive order to end birthright citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to illegal immigrants.
Trump’s critics said he was just posturing ahead of the midterms. But Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide, said the change had been discussed by Trump before, as far back as 2015.
On Thursday, Trump upped the ante again by saying he would prohibit immigrants from seeking asylum if they fail to present themselves at an official port of entry.
“Under this plan, the illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into our country by lodging meritless claims in seeking asylum,” he said. A “comprehensive” executive order on immigration that could include that language and other elements is expected next week, he said.
The president has been accused of using immigration to sow fear and division in the country. But his supporters say Trump is simply elevating an issue that is popular among GOP voters and taking action in a zone that has stymied Congress.
“Outside of [Justice Brett] Kavanaugh, there is no single issue that fires up Republicans more than the issue of illegal immigration,” O’Connell said. “We see it in poll after poll. It correlates not only to firing them up, but also into turnout.”
According to a CNN poll released Wednesday, immigration ranks as the top issue among Republican voters in Arizona and Nevada, two states where Republicans are locked in tight battles for U.S. Senate seats.
In Nevada, where Republican Sen. Dean Heller is facing Democrat Jacky Rosen, 36 percent of Republicans say immigration is the most important issue.
In Arizona, where Republican Rep. Martha McSally is up against Democratic Rep. Krysten Sinema, 42 percent of Republicans agree, according to the CNN poll.
O’Connell said the president’s recent actions also touch on issues beyond immigration, such as national security as it relates to sending troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. “All of these moves hit various issues that are of high priority to base Republicans,” he said.
Nunberg believes Trump’s focus on immigration could galvanize white, suburban women because of the themes of border security, law enforcement, and protecting families. Trump on Thursday seemed to recognize that.
“Women do not want them,” he said of illegal immigrants. “Women want security. You look what the women are looking for, they want to have security. They don’t want to have these people in the country, and they are not going to be in the country.”
