Democrats — stung by an election that in part repudiated the party’s approach to immigration — are changing their approach as they prepare to deal with an emboldened second-term Donald Trump.
It’s a shift that’s been building for years. And it’s emerging as a prime example of how Democratic leaders are finding that the “resistance” strategies of Trump’s first term are no longer practicable in the political climate of early 2025.
Democratic governors have decried Trump’s mass deportation plans and pledged to bar state law enforcement from involvement in major roundups — but they have signaled a willingness to work with him to remove criminals. Some blue city mayors have fortified so-called sanctuary laws, but others have shied away from highlighting that status. And some Democratic leaders have argued the party must take a harder line on immigration after tacking to the left under Trump’s first administration.
This more nuanced response is the party’s effort to strike the right chord politically and position itself for the midterms and a presidential primary in 2028. It’s an approach they believe will bolster their argument when it’s time to push back.
“President-elect Trump is talking about deporting criminals. We should be for that. Everybody should be for that. And I think that the incoming administration should really be working with Democrats that want to work on this. I’d be willing to work with them,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) in an interview.
“But there are going to be problems that arise,” he continued. “You’re going to have some ICE agents knocking down the door of somebody’s house where a criminal used to live, and now that person has moved, and there’s another family there. There are going to be stories about people getting deported for low-level offenses, and the dad being taken away from the children, or the mom.”
