In a fiery and rambling speech in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump vowed to “liberate” the state from what he called an extreme influx of migrants, doubling down on his hardline stance on immigration as the 2024 presidential race heats up.
Speaking to a crowd at the Prairie du Chien Area Arts Center on Saturday, Trump took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris, blaming her for what he sees as a crisis at the southern border. “I will liberate Wisconsin from the mass migrant invasion,” Trump declared, adding, “We’re going to liberate the country.”
The former president’s remarks came just a day after Harris visited the U.S.-Mexico border, where she announced plans to further restrict asylum claims. Trump criticized Harris’ border visit and Fox News for airing her comments, claiming, “Everything she says is lies.”
Newsweek reached out to both the Harris and Trump campaigns via email for comment on Saturday’s events.
Immigration remains a hot-button issue in Wisconsin and other swing states, with the former president hoping to capitalize on voter frustration. Trump reiterated his controversial stance, having previously described illegal border crossers as “poisoning the blood of the country.” He also promised to launch the “largest deportation operation in American history” if re-elected.
The event featured mugshots of individuals in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes, including Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate. Local Police Chief Kyle Teynor addressed the crowd, confirming that Zarate, arrested on multiple charges including sexual assault, is not a U.S. citizen and possessed fake immigration documents.
Recent polls show a tight race in Wisconsin. According to the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, Harris leads Trump by a narrow margin of 49 percent to 47 percent among likely voters in the state.
The Times/Siena poll, conducted from September 21 to 26, surveyed 680 likely voters and has a margin of error of approximately 4 percentage points. FiveThirtyEight’s polling averages for Wisconsin show Harris maintaining a slim lead of 2.1 points over Trump (48.8 percent to 46.7 percent).
A recent poll by Redfield and Wilton Strategies reveals that 47 percent of respondents trust Trump on immigration compared to 36 percent who trust Harris. This gap has been narrowing in recent weeks, coinciding with a sharp decline in border crossings following President Joe Biden‘s executive order limiting asylum claims.
Harris’ tougher stance on border security reflects Democrats‘ efforts to close this gap and shifting public attitudes towards immigration. Gallup reports that 55 percent of voters — including nearly 30 percent of Democrats — support new immigration restrictions, the highest recorded figure since 2001.
The contrasting approaches to immigration policy between Harris and Trump reflect broader ideological differences between the Democratic and Republican platforms. The GOP ranks immigration as a top priority, promising to secure the border and end what they term an “invasion.” In contrast, the Democratic platform emphasizes reforming the asylum system and balancing enforcement with humanitarian considerations.
Trump’s border policies during his presidency focused on reducing unauthorized immigration, including partial construction of a border wall, expanding enforcement, and introducing stricter asylum rules. His controversial “zero tolerance” policy, which resulted in family separations at the southern border, was widely criticized and eventually terminated.
Harris supports comprehensive immigration reform, prioritizing humanitarian protections and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including “Dreamers.” She advocates for modernizing legal immigration systems and framing immigration as an asset to the American economy and society.
Trump and other Republicans have accused Harris of failing to act on these policies as vice president, blaming her for the rise in illegal border crossings and dubbing her Biden’s “border czar.”
During the ABC News presidential debate, Trump made unsubstantiated claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, which have been debunked. He has also promised mass deportations of migrants, a plan that has faced skepticism from Democrats and some Republicans due to logistical challenges.