Migrants planning their journey to the U.S. are cheering for Vice President Kamala Harris to win the presidential election, figuring they’ll get a better shake from her, according to a border expert.
Todd Bensman said he’s been traveling in Mexico where migrants tell him they’re rushing north in hopes of making it to the U.S. before the Nov. 5 election.
“I love Kamala Harris,” one young Venezuelan man told him.
Mr. Bensman, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, recounted his experience for the Daily Mail.
“We do not like Donald Trump because he don’t like us,” he quoted a man from Ghana as saying.
Mr. Bensman said some 150,000 migrants have been bottled up in southern Mexico as that nation, responding to pressure from the U.S., has tightened the routes migrants use to head north. He added that some are on the move again.
His report came a day after Homeland Security released final border numbers for fiscal 2024, which ended Sept. 30 and showed a drop in total illegal activity from the record year of 2023.
The White House celebrated the numbers, saying it was proof that President Biden’s recent shift toward Trump-style get-tough policies, combined with pressure on Mexico, is working.
Mr. Bensman, though, said the relief is temporary and hundreds of thousands of migrants could go on the move again. He said this time it’ll be with Mexico’s encouragement.
Meanwhile, time is of the essence.
“We know that if Donald Trump wins, all the migrants will be kicked out,” a middle-aged Venezuelan man said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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