Obama, Biden, Pelosi and Clinton, the Democratic Party's uneasy past on border security

Before immigration became a central dividing line in U.S. politics, there was a broader consensus on the need to protect the border, speed up criminal deportations and provide more funding for law enforcement. Viewed from today's political climate, that consensus might seem to belong to another era. But it is not: it was publicly championed by Democratic and Republican leaders until a few years ago.

Before Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a "Donald Trump's modern-day Gestapo," border security was one of the flagships of the Democratic agenda during the 2000s and 2010s.

Not so long ago, it was difficult to distinguish between the speeches of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Nancy Pelosi from those of any average Republican today on immigration issues.

In the wake of today's extreme polarization, these not-so-old speeches began to go viral on social media.

Barack Obama

It was 2006, and Congress was debating the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, which had bipartisan support.

On April 3, then-Senator Barack Obama took to the floor and gave a speech in favor of the legislation, emphasizing the need for increased border security.

While the Illinois senator said he understood the "allure of freedom and opportunity that fuels the dream of a life in the United States" for millions of people around the world, he remarked on the need to fix a "broken system."

"The American people are a welcoming and generous people. But those who enter our country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law. And because we live in an age where terrorists are challenging our borders, we simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked. Americans are right to demand better border security and better enforcement of the immigration laws," he said.

He also criticized the 1986 immigration reform passed under Ronald Reagan, arguing that it was too lax in some respects.

"When Congress last passed an immigration bill in 1986, we didn't provide a meaningful way for employers to check legal eligibility to work. Currently, employees can prove their legal status by showing a variety of documents, and employers are supposed to record their inspection of such documents by filling out an I-9 form for each employee. As a result, the market for fraudulent documents, fake Social Security cards, driver's licenses, birth certificates, has exploded," he added.

Joe Biden

Before becoming president in January 2021, Joe Biden starred in two presidential campaigns that did not come to fruition: in 1988 and 2008.

Precisely, it was during the 2008 election cycle when the then senator for Delaware spoke about jailing employers who hire "illegals" and not allowing sanctuary cities to violate federal law.

In November 2006, with his campaign well underway, Biden gave a speech at a Rotary Club of South Carolina. There, he touted his support for the Secure Fence Act, legislation that authorized 700 miles of a double fence along the border.

"Folks, I voted for a fence, I voted, unlike most Democrats – and some of you won't like it – I voted for 700 miles of fence. But, let me tell you, we can build a fence 40 stories high – unless you change the dynamic in Mexico and – and you will not like this, and – punish American employers who knowingly violate the law when, in fact, they hire illegals. Unless you do those two things, all the rest is window dressing," Biden told the group listening to him at the Rotary Club.

"And let me tell you something folks, people are driving across that border with tons, tons, hear me, tons of everything from byproducts for methamphetamine to cocaine to heroin and it's all coming up through corrupt Mexico," he continued.

Nancy Pelosi

Another example is Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the House of Representatives. Despite being the biggest opponent of Donald Trump's agenda in Congress during her first term, the California Democrat also strongly supported border security in the past.

On Dec. 15, 2005, and months before the election that would lead to her becoming the first woman to hold the gavel in the House, Pelosi criticized George W. Bush for not doing enough to control the southern border.

"Let's stay say from the start that we all in this body, and I know I can speak very firmly for the Democrats, support strong border control, and it must be part and the first part of any comprehensive immigration reform. We have it is an our obligation as elected officials to keep the American people safe, and our borders are our first line of defend one of our early lines of defense to do that," Pelosi exclaimed on the House floor.

"Imagine that for all of this talk about illegal immigration to the United States and going after those workers who are working here illegally, and we should, But we also must have employer sanctions. Where are these people working? Why are we not enforcing the law against employers who hire illegal illegal undocumented people here?" the California Democrat continued.

Bill Clinton

The case of Bill Clinton is one of the most remembered. The former president did not make his comments in an arena where they could go unnoticed, but in front of the entire Congress and live on national television.

Clinton had just suffered a hard electoral setback in the 1994 midterms, when Republicans regained the Senate after 7 years and the House of Representatives after 39 years.

In this context, the president spoke about the border situation in the 1995 State of the Union, where he said the following: "All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected, but in every place in this country are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country."

"The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use imposes burdens on our taxpayers. That's why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens," Clinton added.

Finally, he called for increased efforts to "speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes," assuring that he would not allow citizens of other nations to abuse U.S. laws.