On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” NPR “Morning Edition” co-host Steve Inskeep stated that there is a contingent of Democrats who “don’t want problems in their cities, problems in their backyards, even if they favor immigration in general.”
Host Erin Burnett asked, “This has become at the core of politics in a way, perhaps, it never has been before. And that is because it has moved into big, northern, liberal cities, right? It is now in people’s communities, as you say. … And I know you talk about border walls, a wall versus barriers. Biden has said he’s clear, a wall, for an example, won’t work. But the reality is is whatever the word you use — and, as you point out, maybe it is not just a matter of semantics — but nonetheless, from a political point of view, it does seem to fly in the face of some of his most core campaign promises. … So, Steve, how does he deal with that? That’s, of course, what he said during the campaign.”
Inskeep responded, “Well, this is a reality that American politicians have always faced. There’s always been fear and anxiety about immigrants and immigration. … Lincoln had to deal with this, had to deal with what was called the nativist movement, and he had to figure out how to appeal to nativist voters politically, even though he disagreed with them on the issue. And every generation of American politicians since has faced the same challenge. And that is definitely true of Democrats, who have a big part of their coalition who are immigrants and pro-immigrant, but have other parts of their coalition who have certain doubts or at least they don’t want problems in their cities, problems in their backyards, even if they favor immigration in general.”
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