Democratic candidates in 2026 are using Joe Biden’s border record as a shield and a sword.
Story Snapshot
- Democrats in swing races say Biden failed on the border.
- Voters rank immigration near the top of issues shaping their vote.
- Biden’s 2024 actions cut unlawful crossings and sped removals, officials say.
- Lower encounters in 2026 complicate the blame game but not the politics.
Why Democrats Are Breaking Ranks Now
Democratic hopefuls in battlegrounds are calling out Joe Biden’s border record by name. Texas Senate nominee James Talarico said he “called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border.” Kansas candidate Adam Hamilton called Biden’s border record a “disaster.” Pennsylvania’s Paige Cognetti and South Carolina’s Annie Andrews also faulted the Biden years. This is not a whisper campaign. It is a strategy to blunt a top Republican attack and reset the party’s image on security.
NEW: 2026 Democratic candidates throw Joe Biden under the bus on the border
In the closing stretch, candidates in key races from red states to purple districts are pointedly criticizing the ex-president to protect against an enduring vulnerability.
TALARICO ad: “I called out…
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 31, 2026
Polling pressure drives the shift. Immigration and the border rank near the top of voter priorities, not just for Republicans. A Pew Research Center report in October 2026 found that majorities saw immigration as important to their vote, and Democratic voters rated it more important than four years earlier. Candidates read those numbers and adjust. In tight races, being off-key on a top-tier issue is a fast way to lose a winnable seat.
What The Biden Record Actually Shows
The Biden team argues that it did act. In June 2024, the White House moved to suspend entry for unlawful crossings when encounters surged and to restrict asylum eligibility during those periods. The Department of Homeland Security said these steps let officers remove people faster if they lacked a legal basis to stay. Afterward, Customs and Border Protection reported sharp declines in crossings and major jumps in removals.
Monthly data backed up the claim of impact. Customs and Border Protection reported a significant drop in encounters in June 2024 after the proclamation. By December 2024, the agency said crossings between ports fell 60 percent from May. The department also said roughly 700,000 removals and returns were completed in fiscal year 2024, the most since 2010. Border Patrol releases pending court fell 89 percent after the rule took effect, according to the update.
The Politics Of Blame Meets The Math Of Migration
Numbers cooled further into 2026. Pew Research Center reported that Border Patrol encounters fell to their lowest level in more than fifty years, based on federal data. That is not the same as saying the border is “fixed.” It does show that encounter levels move with policy shifts, foreign enforcement, seasons, and smugglers’ tactics. Voters still assign credit or blame to presidents, because that is how our politics works in practice.
Democrats see the risk and are adjusting to it. Their message now sounds tougher at the edges: more enforcement, fewer releases, faster decisions. That aligns with common sense and a core conservative value many voters share across parties: a sovereign border with clear rules and consequences. When Democrats echo that frame, they court swing voters who want order and compassion, in that order, and who punish leaders who look casual about security.
Does Turning On Biden Work?
A clean break can help, but only with a plan that fits the facts on the ground. Voters punish blame-shifting without solutions. Candidates who point to June 2024 actions and the drop that followed can argue for finishing the job: surge judges, expand detention space, and focus asylum on those who qualify, quickly. That argument sits on firmer ground because it cites real policy tools and measurable results that agencies already reported.
Republicans will answer that the tough measures came late and only after political heat rose. That critique lands with voters who remember chaos scenes from earlier years. Democrats can counter with the government’s own metrics on removals, reduced releases, and lower encounters after mid-2024. On balance, the data strengthen the case for clear limits and fast outcomes. Voters do not want slogans; they want standards that stick and results that last.
Sources:
nbcnews.com, feeds.nbcnews.com, pewresearch.org
