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The United States immigration system is in historic turmoil, and Democrats have thus far failed to produce a sufficient response to address the crisis. Just a few months after the expiration of the Title 42 order that was used to facilitate 2.7 million deportations, illegal immigration is once again at a record high, with border apprehensions reaching more than 7,500 per day. Since the breakdown of Title 42, the Biden administration has tried and failed to construct an effective solution, despite a majority of Americans supporting keeping the program in place.

To be clear, migrants seeking to enter the United States unequivocally deserve to have their asylum claims heard within U.S. borders. Many have no home to return to and have fled to the U.S. to escape intense political and economic turmoil and persecution. President Joe Bidens morals may be in the right place, but his inability to solve a crisis he promised to fix offers a political opportunity Republicans could take advantage of.

Republicans can first take political advantage of the immigration crisis by stoking divisions within the Democratic Party on the immigration issue. Already, Republicans have begun to employ this strategy. In a move begun by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and perpetuated by other Republican governors along the border, state governments have been sending migrants to sanctuary cities in the Midwest and East Coast with the express political purpose of creating chaos.

Now, this bussing system has finally reached its inevitable conclusion: these cities have reached the absolute limit of their resources, and are in desperate need of Washingtons intervention. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City which presently harbors around 60,000 migrants controversially declared that the crisis will destroy New York City, a break from his Democratic peers. Chicago, too, is at the brink, with more than 13,000 migrants being bussed to the city from Texas since August 2022. This move by Abbott and others may be morally reprehensible, but its politically smart, and is creating the division between Democrats he hoped to achieve.

Republicans can take advantage of this crisis further by using their control of the House of Representatives to propose real policy solutions. The historic crisis at the border gives Republicans a chance to finally address illegal immigration, which has long been a focal point for Republican politicians and their constituents.

Illegal immigration is now a greater contributor to the border crisis than ever before. Rather than reducing illegal immigration, however, Trump-era policies often limited opportunities for legal immigrants, further incentivizing illegal immigration. Catch-and-release has been proven ineffective, but universal deportation back to a migrants country of origin a strategy championed by some Republican candidates would be far too extreme and costly. A more cost-effective solution would be to expand budgetary support for overtaxed border patrol agencies to be better equipped to handle the present rates of immigration in a humane and expeditious fashion. Now is the time to act on all those campaign promises.

While former President Donald Trump was in office, he sought to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, yet only succeeded in creating a system that was ineffective at best and a violation of human rights at worst. These views continue to be echoed by the Republican primary field, even while a majority of Americans remain in favor of more moderate Title-42-esque restrictions.

To act first means to overcome the deadlock in Congress. For decades, Republicans and Democrats alike have recognized the need for immigration reform, yet political polarization and the convoluted American legislative system have made such sweeping changes near impossible. Republicans have often sought to limit immigration as much as possible, while Democrats have focused on streamlining the process.

These polar opposite priorities are the main reason why reform hasnt come. While Trump was in office, he sought to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, yet only succeeded in creating a system which was ineffective at best and a violation of human rights at worst. These views continue to be echoed by the Republican primary field, even while a majority of Americans remain in favor of more moderate restrictions similar to Title 42. Rather than drafting unnecessarily extreme policies that are unwanted by the majority of Americans, they can assume far more moderate positions and draft legislation which addresses the aspects of the immigration system wreaking havoc on our country.

So far, the GOP has done anything but draft legislation and has staunchly avoided bipartisanship at all costs. To fully take advantage of the political opportunity the border crisis represents, Republicans need to change course. On Sept. 12, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy opened an impeachment inquiry into Biden. McCarthy claims the reason for this inquiry is to further investigate a culture of corruption surrounding the president and his son, Hunter Biden. In reality, many of these claims were already found to be unsubstantiated in a 2020 Senate Republican inquiry, and the true justification for launching the inquiry may be far more nefarious.

Trump has encouraged McCarthy and others, both publicly and privately, to launch an impeachment inquiry regarding President Bidens alleged involvement with his sons business dealings. They did it to me, Trump said in a recent interview. By tethering themselves to the narrative of a man who is facing dozens of charges in four indictments, Republicans are gambling dangerously with their partys reputation and chances in the 2024 election, underscoring their stagnation as they refuse to pry themselves loose of Trumps de facto leadership of the party.

This fools errand of an impeachment inquiry is a colossal strategic error for the Republican Party as a whole and neglects the political opening that Bidens floundering immigration response offers.

Republicans face a difficult political map in the 2024 presidential election next year. With such a competitive race, Republicans have no choice but to seize the political opportunity that Bidens lackluster immigration response is. To do this, they need to continue to sow division amongst Democrats on immigration policy, offer up policy solutions of their own that are moderate enough to come to a compromise on and turn away from distracting issues like impeachment. Whether they like it or not, the Republicans best chance at political success is to finally advocate for significant immigration reform.

Maximilian Schenke is an Opinion Columnist who is passionate about international politics and how they affect us locally, but often writes about national politics as well. He loves receiving criticism or otherwise at maxsch@umich.edu.

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