Biden Co-Chair Coons: Dems Have Shifted on Border Because It’s Gotten So Bad over Past Year or Two

On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Biden Campaign Co-Chair Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) stated that Democrats have shifted on border policy over the past year or two due to how bad the border’s gotten.

Co-host Phil Mattingly asked, “Do you think that Democrats, from a policy perspective, what they are willing to entertain, what they are willing to sign off on when it comes to restrictions related to immigration, are in a different place than they were a year, two years ago because of what’s happened at the border?”

Coons answered, “Yes, I think there’s a willingness to reconsider the initial screening standard for asylum, for example, because so many people are now using the asylum process, who, ultimately, years later, after a court review, will be deemed ineligible for asylum. That’s one of the biggest changes in recent years. But there [are] many Democrats who question whether the policy changes demanded by Republicans will actually make a difference at the border. Most Democrats would prefer a regional engagement that addresses the conditions in the countries folks are flowing from towards the United States in addition to changes in how we screen for asylum and in how we treat folks when they’re being detained or deported here. This has been a vigorous debate as long as I’ve been in the Senate. We have tried and tried, and hopefully, the politics of the re-election campaign will not get in the way of our proving some path forward here does exist.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett