The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is monitoring a caravan of migrants making its way to the U.S. ahead of next week’s elections, a department spokesperson told Newsweek.
Republicans are expected to take back at least one chamber of Congress during Tuesday’s elections, if not both, which could make it tougher for asylum-seekers to arrive in the U.S. Although it’s unclear exactly how the GOP could change the immigration landscape, Republican lawmakers have promised to push for stricter border security.
“The information that these migrant caravans have is that after that date, policies will be hardened,” Guatemalan Interior Minister Napoleon Barrientos told the Daily Caller, adding that Guatemala is conducting “operations in our borders to stop the flow migration.”
The DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that the agency’s knowledge of the caravan is not based on a single report, but from comprehensive analysis, suggesting that the department has other information related to the caravan’s travel to the U.S.
Republicans have seized on the record-breaking number of migrants who have crossed into the U.S. since the administration of President Joe Biden took office. They’ve blasted the White House for its response to the influx and transported migrants from border states, like Texas and Arizona, to northern cities led by Democratic officials, like Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Margaret Peters, associate professor of political science at UCLA, said that the main reason migrants travel in large groups, like the reported caravan, is because there is safety in numbers. Peters told Newsweek it’s common practice for migrants to band together when traveling as a way to avoid abuse from gangs or authorities while on the road.
“Immigration is a very important issue to the Republican base,” she said. “Increasing fears of a caravan coming to the US border is a way to keep the issue at the top of minds of Republican voters and hopefully get them to turn out for an election.”
Immigration has historically been a key voting issue for many Americans. A new Gallup poll released on Monday found that immigration is the fifth-most important issue for voters headed to the polls next week. The economy remains the top voting issue this year, followed by abortion and crime. Nearly 90 percent of respondents said immigration was an important issue when it comes to whom voters would choose for Congress. Thirty-seven percent said the issue was “extremely important,” while only 12 percent said it was “not that important.”
The extent to which voters are concerned about immigration is even more pronounced among those living in border states like Texas, where more than half of Republican voters say immigration and border security is the most important topic, according to an October 21 poll from the University of Texas at Austin. The issue is even more striking, and important for Democrats to address, in border states where hotly watched Senate races are playing out.
In Arizona, where incumbent Senator Mark Kelly has a 3.3-point lead over Republican Blake Masters, immigration moves up to third as the most important issue facing voters. A CBS poll released this month found that over half of voters in the state say immigration has changed where they live, and of those impacted by the issue, nine in 10 say the topic is very important in their 2022 vote. Among voters who place importance on immigration, Masters leads big, with more than double the support of Kelly, 68 percent to 31 percent.
Read More: Border Patrol Tracking Migrant Caravan as Midterm Race Hits Home Stretch