Immigration occupies center stage in the 2024 presidential campaign and also was a major focus during the first presidential debate Thursday night between President Joe Biden and the presumptive GOP nominee, Donald J. Trump.

Immigration is a top issue for voters and for Trump, while the Biden administration has struggled to deal with the largest number of migrant encounters at the southern border in 20 years.

Biden during the 90-minute debate at CNN in Atlanta defended his administration’s handling of immigration and blamed Trump for tanking a bipartisan U.S. Senate border security deal.

Biden also pointed to that deal as a reason he should be reelected, because the White House was able to forge the agreement in the first place.

“We worked very hard to get a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said.

Immigration crackdown

Senate Republicans rejected the bipartisan border security deal earlier this year, siding with their House colleagues and Trump. The agreement would have significantly overhauled U.S. immigration law by creating a temporary procedure to shut down the border during active times and raising the bar for asylum claims.

Trump in the debate argued that Biden did not need legislation to enact policy changes at the southern border because “I didn’t have legislation, I said close the border.”

In early June, Biden made the most drastic crackdown on immigration of his administration, issuing an executive order that instituted a partial ban on asylum proceedings at the southern border.

Trump called that action “insignificant.”

The debate came the day after U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas gave a briefing from Tucson, Arizona, about a decline in migrant encounters following Biden’s executive order.

He said the Tucson sector has “seen a more than 45 percent drop in U.S. Border Patrol encounters since the president took action, and repatriations of encountered individuals in Tucson have increased by nearly 150 percent.”

“Across the entire southern border, Border Patrol encounters have dropped by over 40 percent,” Mayorkas said.

‘Remain in Mexico’ policy

Trump cited his prior policies that he felt were successful and criticized Biden for rolling them back, such as one that required migrants to remain in Mexico while they awaited their asylum cases.

Biden slammed Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy that separated parents from their children in efforts to deter unauthorized immigrants at the border.

“When he was president he was … separating babies from their mothers and putting them in cages,” Biden said.

And, without citing evidence, Trump blamed immigrants for crime, calling it “migrant crime.”

Overall violent crime in the country is down by 15%, according to recent FBI statistics, and researchers have found that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens.

Trump brought up the death of a Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, and blamed Biden’s immigration policies.

“All he does is make our country unsafe,” Trump said.

In late February, Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was reported missing by her roommate when she did not return home after a run on the campus of the University of Georgia at Athens.

Local police found her body and shortly afterward arrested a 26-year-old man from Venezuela for her murder — an immigrant previously arrested in Georgia on a shoplifting charge who entered the country without authorization in 2022, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. House Republicans in reaction passed the Laken Riley Act.

Mass deportations

Trump was asked by debate moderators how he would carry out mass deportations, but he did not go into detail.

He has repeatedly claimed he would carry out a mass deportation campaign of undocumented immigrants by utilizing local law enforcement, the National Guard and potentially the U.S. military. He’s done so on the campaign trail and during a lengthy interview with Time Magazine. 

“We have to get a lot of these people out and we got to get them out fast because they’re destroying our country,” Trump said during the debate.

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – A warning to boaters operating impaired during the Fourth of July weekend – Nebraska conservation officers will be watching.

Operation Dry Water, a national heightened awareness and enforcement campaign focused on reducing the number of alcohol and drug-related incidents and deaths, will take place July 4 through the 6th.

For those days, Nebraska Game and Parks conservation officers will have an enhanced presence on waters across the state, targeting impaired boat operators. Their goal will be to raise awareness and to foster a stronger, more visible deterrent to alcohol and drug use on the water through enforcement.

The Fourth of July is a holiday known for increased boaters on the water where alcohol use is prevalent and a higher number of boating incidents and fatalities, according to Operation Dry Water.

“A bad decision to drink while operating a boat can change a life – or several. That’s why we’re trying to keep the waters as safe as possible so families can enjoy the holiday,” Game and Parks Law Enforcement Administrator Jeff Clauson said. “Enjoy the water with family and friends safely – and responsibly.”

Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor to fatal boating incidents. Just like on land, alcohol use impairs judgment, balance, vision, reaction time and can increase fatigue. Sun, wind, noise, and motion – stressors coming during boating – also intensify the side effects of alcohol and drugs.

Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating incidents. Where the primary cause was known, it was listed as the leading factor in 16% of deaths according to U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Statistics 2021.

Since the inception of Operation Dry Water in 2009, law enforcement officers have removed 6,869 BUI operators from the nation’s waterways and contacted more than 2.8 million boaters during the annual three-day weekend.

In Nebraska, it is unlawful to operate a motorboat with a blood alcohol level content of 0.08% or greater. Doing so constitutes BUI, which carries penalties such as vessel impoundment, fines, jail time and loss of boating privileges.

In 2023, 488 local, state and federal agencies participated in Operation Dry Water. Over the three-day weekend, officers contacted 302,146 boaters, made 717 BUI arrests and issued 42,822 citations and warnings for safety violations.

Operation Dry Water is a joint program of Game and Parks, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and the U.S. Coast Guard. Find more information on the national effort at OperationDryWater.org.

Other boat safety reminders

In addition to recreating responsibly, Game and Parks offers these boat safety reminders:

• Have all required boating safety equipment on your vessel, including life jackets or U.S. Coast Guard-approved floatation devices, lights, a fire extinguisher, horn, bailing bucket and an orange flag if pulling skiers and tubers.
• Children aged 12 and younger and anyone riding or operating a personal watercraft or being pulled on a towable must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
• Anyone operating a motorboat or personal watercraft must be at least 14 years old.
• Anyone born after Dec. 31, 1985, must complete a boater safety course, which can be taken at OutdoorNebraska.gov, search for “boater education.”

For more information on boating rules and requirements, read the 2024 Boating Guide at OutdoorNebraska.gov/guides-maps.

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