John Kerry says “Trump is right” and Democrats allow immigrants to “siege” the border

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the BBC that his fellow Democrats allowed the U.S.-Mexico border to be “siege” during Joe Biden’s presidency.

In sharp words, Kerry was a Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.

The comments, in an interview with BBC Special Correspondent James Naughtie, highlighted the ongoing debate within the Democratic Party about whether their pro-migration policies have caused them in recent elections – and how they respond to Trump’s recent attempts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants nationwide.

“The first thing any president should say – or anyone in public life – without border protection, you don’t have a country,” Kerry said. “I hope President Biden often says that I will enforce the law.”

Such remarks have been familiar to Trump during his time in national politics and have been included in the 2024 Republican policy platform.

But Democrats — many advocate for more relaxed immigration laws, and ways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants — are trying to portray Trump’s position as harsh and discriminatory.

According to Kerry, this is a mistake.

“Trump is right,” Carey said. “The problem is that we should all be right.”

In the first six months of Trump’s second term, illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have fallen to near-record lows – although the downward trend began in the final year of Biden’s presidency after Democrats strengthened some asylum rules.

The Trump administration has now shifted its focus to the identity of recorded immigrants across the United States, detaining and deporting, expanding its efforts to include those who have lived in the United States for many years.

The move prompted mass demonstrations in some U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, where federal officials have been taking some of the most radical actions.

Over the weekend, armed federal agents and 90 California National Guard operated at MacArthur Park in the city, a gathering place for nearby immigrant communities. Officials walked, rode horses and armored vehicles through the park.

“For me, this is another example of the chaos that governments seem to be military operations by deploying,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during an impromptu press conference near the park.

“You can spin it anyway, but I think it’s an outrageous political agenda of fear and horror.”

Los Angeles and seven other California cities joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, saying federal immigration enforcement actions were illegal. California has briefly introduced the lawsuit.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement denouncing what he called “a cruel and familiar pattern of attack, a pattern of attacks on our immigrant communities by a predominantly fearful and divisional government.”

The condemnation and legal struggles echo the strategy Democrats rely on during Trump’s first presidency, when the Republican policy of separating immigrant families across the U.S.-Mexico border caused widespread national anger.

However, this concern gradually fades away, and by 2024, strict immigration enforcement once again becomes the top conversation point for the Republican Party.

The Trump administration seems to continue to welcome debates about immigration – a question that, despite the recent decline in public opinion polls, they believe they still have the upper hand.

When asked Wednesday about a Democratic ban in Congress that prohibits immigration law enforcement officers from concealing their identity, Trump said the opposition was already in trouble.

“It’s a problem for the Democrats,” he said. “There’s a lot of bad things going on in their minds. They lose confidence and become a little unfortunate.”

Of course, Democrats are used to sending Trump criticism. But some — including party elders like Kerry — are increasingly claiming they opened up his political blow to Trump.