After Minneapolis campaign, Democrats face political vulnerabilities to fight Trump on immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats plan to campaign in the midterms on affordability and health care, two issues Americans are particularly upset with President Donald Trump.

But Minnesota’s violent immigration crackdown, including the killing of Rene Judd during a standoff with federal agents, has confounded the party’s playbook.

He watches: Border Patrol and ICE leaders defend the tactics used in the Minneapolis operations

Now Democrats are trying to translate deep-seated anger into a political strategy, though there is little consensus on how to move forward on issues where the party has recently struggled to win voters’ trust.

Some Democrats want to repeal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a proposal that echoes the “defund the police” rhetoric from Trump’s first term, and hold administration officials like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accountable.

Others have taken a different approach, introducing legislation aimed at curbing alleged abuses by federal agents. But these ideas have been criticized by activists as insufficient, and there is growing pressure to block funding for deportations.

“We’re Democrats. I’m sure we’ll have 50 different ideas and 50 different ways of saying it,” said Chuck Rocha, a party strategist who is advising several House and Senate candidates on immigration this year.

He watches: Trump says Republicans need to win the midterm elections or I will be impeached

If Democrats fail to strike the right balance, they could jeopardize their efforts to regain control of Congress and statehouses across the country. It could also hinder the opportunity to rebuild credibility with voters whose dissatisfaction with border enforcement under Democratic President Joe Biden helped return Trump, a Republican, to the White House.

Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and a former domestic policy adviser to Biden, believes the party can solve the problem.

“It’s not too much to demand that we have a government that can create secure borders, that can deport people who are not here legally, and that can also respect people’s civil and human rights,” she told the Associated Press. “This country has done it before, and it can do it again.”

Scenes of violence force a strong democratic response

Crackdowns on immigrants have spread from city to city since Trump took office, but the latest operation in Minnesota has sparked some of the most intense controversy.

Judd, 37, was fatally shot by a federal agent earlier this month, sparking protests and angry responses from local Democratic leaders. Department officials accused Judd of trying to hit a customer with her car, an explanation that was widely disputed based on videos circulating online.

Read more: The Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Frey

“I think the party is very united in our disdain and concern for the actions of DHS and ICE,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “We must campaign for justice and due process for all people, which ICE and DHS violate every day. We must be aggressive in this situation,” Garcia added.

But reversing the administration will require Democrats to tread difficult political ground.

About 4 in 10 American adults trust Republicans more on handling immigration, according to a September Washington Post/Ipsos poll, higher than about 3 in 10 who said the same about Democrats.

On the crime issue, Republicans also had the advantage. About 44% thought Republicans were better, compared to 22% for Democrats.

Republicans feel confident that their intertwined messages on crime and immigration will resonate with voters in the midterm elections. It often highlights violent criminals who are detained or deported, downplaying the examples of non-violent immigrants who have been arrested.

“If Democrats want to make 2026 a referendum on which party will support strong immigration policies and protect public safety, we will fight this fight any day of the week,” said Delaney Bomar, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.

Read more: US citizen says Immigration and Customs Enforcement forced open the door of his Minnesota home and took him out in his underwear after a warrantless search.

Some Democrats are more interested in using the issue as a way to get back to basic messages about health care and the cost of living.

“I want everyone to understand that cuts to your health care are what drives ICE to do this,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said last week. “The cuts in your health care are what pays for this.”

Democratic strategists have circulated the clip as an example of a potentially effective pitch, especially after Trump cut funding for some safety net programs during his first year in office.

Trump faces his own public opinion challenges

The president’s approval on the immigration issue may decline.

His approval rating on the issue has fallen since the beginning of his term, according to polls conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, from 49% in March to 38% in January.

Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, said the crackdowns had hurt Trump politically.

“Republican members of Congress feel really uncomfortable with these agencies and their current methods, because they know it will hurt them at home in the election cycle,” he added.

Proanio said he was disappointed with how Democrats handled the Trump administration on immigration last year, but praised changes in party strategy since Goode’s death was captured on video.

“I think everyone was appalled by that, and I think there has been a remarkable shift since then,” he said.

Some people who have vocally supported Trump in the past, such as podcast host Joe Rogan, have expressed reservations.

“Are we really going to become the Gestapo?” he asked recently.

But Trump showed no sign of backing down. The administration increased the number of federal agents deployed in Minnesota and the Justice Department issued subpoenas to Democrats in the state, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or obstructed enforcement operations.

“There’s a lot of pain and suffering,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, who led the party in his home state of Minnesota.

“It’s heartbreaking,” he said in a recent interview. “It is appalling to think that this is the United States of America, which is supposed to be a beacon of democracy and freedom.”