U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso will speak about immigration Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention, addressing what polls show to be one of the greatest vulnerabilities for the party in this year’s election.
“The first thing that I tell folks, especially those who don’t live anywhere near the border, is that no one wants a secure and well-managed border more than those of us who live here,” Escobar said in an interview with El Paso Matters earlier this week. “I remind people over and over again that communities along the border are among the safest in the nation. That’s not by accident. That’s because of who we are and the way that we have always dealt with the significant challenges that come with increased migration.”
Escobar, who is a national co-chair of the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign, was a late addition to the list of speakers for the Chicago convention. She is scheduled to speak at about 5:50 p.m. MT Wednesday, meaning the speech won’t be during prime time, when the convention television audience is at its highest.
Earlier, Democrats announced that Escobar will chair Thursday’s final night of the convention, when Harris will formally accept the Democrats’ presidential nomination.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has repeatedly attacked Harris on what he calls the “open border policies” of the Biden-Harris administration.
“On day one, I will seal the border,” Trump said during an appearance in Howell, Michigan, on Tuesday. “I’ll send Kamala’s illegal aliens back home where they belong.”
Polls have shown that voters believe Trump will do a better job on immigration and border security than Harris.
A Marquette University Law School Pool in late July and early August gave Trump a 53%-38% edge over Harris when voters were asked which candidate would do a better job on immigration and border security. In a May Marquette Law School poll, Trump had a 52%-25% lead over President Joe Biden on that issue.
Democrats have several other speakers planned for Wednesday night on the immigration issue.
In recent weeks, Democrats have hit Trump for torpedoing a bipartisan bill earlier his year that would have toughened border enforcement. Democrats also are highlighting a series of executive actions by Biden that they say have led to sharp decreases in border crossings over the past five months.
El Paso native Olivia Troye also will address the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, using her experience in the Trump White House to encourage Republicans and independents to support Harris and Walz.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The post Veronica Escobar speaks about immigration policy at Democratic National Convention appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More