Democrat Ruben Gallego presents his border plan: a bit of Trump, a bit of Biden, a bit of 2028?

"We must have a secure border." The phrase is easily assignable to Donald Trump. Months ago as a campaign promise, after his inauguration and as a priority on his agenda. But it doesn't belong to Trump or any Republican, but to Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego during the unveiling of his proposal for the border. 

"We don’t have to choose between border security and immigration reform, we can and should do both," the freshman Arizona congressman argued, appealing to his immigrant roots and Navy background as credentials for that dual proposal.

His Plan for Border Security and Immigration Reform includes five pillars: securing the border, reforming the asylum system to "end abuse," increasing legal pathways of entry, facilitating legalization for select groups of undocumented immigrants and attacking the "root causes" of immigration.

Gallego seems to take a little from Biden—especially the "root causes" speech—and a little from Trump, without mentioning either. Only, perhaps, with vague allusions, but ones that could be critical of both the current Administration and its predecessor: "Washington swings from one extreme to another: from being unwilling to secure the border to manufacturing chaos and fear in our communities. Neither of these extremes is the answer."

"These [poor] conditions [at the border] have forced agents to release hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers onto the streets of small border communities, leaving municipalities on the hook to manage a crisis they did not create," seems like a copied paragraph of MAGA ideology. Or: "MOST individuals who claim asylum at the border do not have valid protection claims."

And also, "Between FY 2020 and FY 2023, the number of people on the Terrorist Watchlist encountered by Border Patrol (USBP) surged by over 5,700 percent. Left roaming our streets, these bad actors have threatened Americans’ safety and security."

The apparent whitewash occurs not only with the diagnosis, but also with some "recommendations." Gallego advises to "strategically build border barriers," a measure that resonates similar to Trump's "build a wall." He also proposes to "prioritize the removal of criminals," a promise made by the administration in its current deportation campaign; as well as "strengthen regional partnerships to combat fentanyl networks," when Washington did the same at the negotiating table with Ottawa and Mexico City.

"All the illegals into citizens"

"The new Democrat 'plan' is just to make the illegal aliens into citizens," assessed Stephen Miller, a White House adviser, on social networks. "After spearheading the mass invasion of our country, Democrats are demanding we make all the illegals into citizens."

In addition to proposing some new visas to "enable more individuals to migrate to the US legally and provide greater labor mobility," Gallego aims to benefit Dreamers: he not only advises providing them with a "pathway to citizenship," but also protecting those minors who may be left without legal protection due to the delay in processing their papers.

It also advises providing legal status and pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens or Green Card holders.

Planning for the past?

White House spokesman Kush Desai countered by inviting Gallego to "read the news."

"We don’t need a new bill to secure our southern border, end the illegal abuse of parole, and get other countries to crack down on illegal migration into the United States," Desai said in a statement picked up by FOX. "We just needed President Trump back in office."

During the four-plus months of the second Trump administration, illegal crossings have been dropping week by week. Gallego released his plan to beef up the border on the same day CBP reported that apprehensions at the southern border had plummeted 93%.

While immigration remains a top voter concern, it has been declining in importance. The latest poll from Harvard Harris Poll shows it in third place in Americans' priorities (with 26% rating it as the top issue), when in January it ranked first (at 35%).

The poll also shows that Trump's immigration measures are his best-valued policy, which is why, according to the GOP, Gallego replicated the ways and measures of the Administration on that issue. Something similar, they claim, to what Kamala Harris tried to do during the campaign.

During his own Senate campaign, the Democrat talked about seeking "comprehensive" immigration reform, claiming he had a history of promoting such proposals. Critics of his new plan claim that he is simply seeking to take up that banner: it worked for him in the last election, he wants to take it up again for the next presidential election.

President Gallego?

Although it is not certain that Gallego's plan will become that of the Democratic Party, several party and congressional colleagues expressed their support. Among them were Sen. Mark Kelly and Congressmen Tom Suozzi and Vicente Gonzalez Jr.

Days before launching his proposal, the Arizona senator crossed the country to headline a town hall in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which sparked rumors of a possible presidential bid.

"Has it ever crossed my mind? F---ing of course, I’m an elected official, it crosses my mind," Gallego replied when NBC News asked him about possible presidential aspirations. Although he said he wasn't thinking about it at the time, he added: "Big donors, big organizations, well-known Democratic political operatives  have encouraged me to run. I’m not denying that."

On that occasion he was also questioned about the reduction of border crossings, which he saw as positive but unsustainable: "What I think is bad is I don’t think it’s sustainable the way he’s doing it." His mission in Bucks, he said, was to let the voter know that in the future "the Democrats are gonna be sane on border security, sane on immigration reform."