▶ Watch Video: CBS News 24/7 A cadre of speakers at the Democratic National Convention addressed immigration policy.
A cadre of speakers at the Democratic National Convention addressed immigration policy and border security Wednesday in an attempt to redefine what has been widely viewed as a major political vulnerability for Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris in this campaign cycle.
The speakers, who included Democratic lawmakers who have focused on immigration policy and the sheriff of a Texas county near the U.S.-Mexico border, embraced a bipartisan border security deal forged earlier this year that would enact significant restrictions on asylum and fund the hiring of thousands of additional Border Patrol agents and immigration officers.
The DNC speakers accused former President Donald Trump of playing political games on immigration by urging Republican lawmakers to reject the border policy compromise, which collapsed in Congress without sufficient GOP support. At the same time, the speakers painted Trump as anti-immigrant, highlighting his most controversial campaign pledges, which include a promise to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants as part of a massive deportation operation.
Those making the foray into immigration included Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic negotiator in the team that brokered the border security deal.
“Donald Trump’s allies weren’t just in the room, they helped us write the whole bill,” Murphy told the DNC crowd, calling it “a bipartisan bill.”
“One Republican said it would have had almost unanimous support if it weren’t for Donald Trump,” Murphy added.
Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, Texas, called Trump “a self-serving man.”
“When he killed the border bill, he just made our jobs harder,” Salazar said.
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, sought to paint Harris as being tough on border security while also touting her role in a Biden administration plan unveiled in June to provide a path to citizenship to about 500,000 migrants married to U.
