Security at the Mexican border has been a topic where incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan and challenger retired Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc share some common ground, specifically when it comes to reinforcing the Border Patrol’s ranks.
Hassan is in favor of additional law enforcement, physical barriers, and technology that prevents crossings at the Mexican border. To control that type of immigration, she announced earlier this year her support of Title 42, a measure that prevents migrants from traversing the Southern border and applying for asylum. At first, it was a public health measure meant to stop the spread of infectious diseases.
Bolduc has said that Hassan has been unproductive on the national security front, accusing her of hindering the efforts to discourage illegal immigration made by the Trump administration. He also supports keeping Title 42 in place and implementing E-verify.
Border infrastructure
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in early October, Bolduc said he supports sending more resources and agents to the Border Patrol and wants to finish the wall former President Trump envisioned. Across his online platforms, Bolduc’s main message is that the border needs to be bolstered to protect the country from drug cartels, human trafficking, and weapons.
In 2017, Hassan said she strongly opposed an “expensive and ineffective border wall," that former President Trump wanted built. Sinceat least 2018, Hassan has said that certain gaps in the physical barriers along the border should be filled, something she’s reiteratedon the campaign trail.
She has supported the federal infrastructure billand other bills, including funding 600 additional border agents. She has also highlighted her backing for technology that detects fentanyl on site.
Asylum policies
At theMt. Washington Valley Economic Council debate in mid-October, Bolduc said he would not work to change the U.S. asylum policies because “they just need to be better enforced.” But at the end of his statement, he said, “the policy is wrong, and it needs to be changed,” without specifying which policy he referred to.
“I want pressure put on the President of the United States every day to do the right thing – reinforce our Border Patrol,” he said.
He also toldNHPR he wants to bring back the “Remain in Mexico” policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their cases to be resolved through a U.S. court. He favors implementing E-Verify and keeping Title 42 in place.
Hassan’s views on asylum are similar to Bolduc’s but with a slight difference – she emphasizes that the country’s asylum policy should be “humanitarian,” she said during the debate.
The senator also supports keeping Title 42 in place because if lifted, “there will be an even greater surge of migrants coming over the border,” she said. “We have to keep migrants from crossing illegally.”
Her April remarks about Title 42 and continued support for it brought backlash from Latino advocates in New Hampshirebefore the September primaries. Some accused her of treating the immigrant community as “bargaining chips.” Several even said they would not support her campaign this year.
But in the face of the November elections, some advocates say they had to reconsider their positions.
Advocates criticize Hassan, but some say other issues outside are at stake this election
After the Dobbs decision changed the national landscape around reproductive rights, some advocates critical of Hassan’s stance on Title 42 say it’s essential the senator beat her Republican opponent. Some have said that the stakes are higher now and are willing to put their criticism aside for the moment in the hope that the immigration issue can be resolved after the elections.
Immigrant activist Sebastian Fuentes has expressed his disappointment with Hassan’s stances through social media. Fuentes stepped down from the Latino Democratic Caucus after Hassan's support of Title 42 this spring. He urges the senator to have a conversation with other New Hampshire advocates about immigration.
Fuentes finds himself between a rock and a hard place, he says. He thinks for minorities, “it is a death sentence voting for a Republican.”
Other advocates, including an NH Young Dems executive committee member, have remained critical of Hassan leading up to the November midterms.
Carlos Cardona, former Laconia City Dems Chair, expressed earlier this year that he wouldn’t work for Hassan's campaign but ended up doing it after the overturn of Roe; as a member of the LGBTQ community, he fears same-sex marriage and adoption could be the next target. Still, he thinks that Hassan has to back off her position on Title 42.
“She had a primary. A candidate was running against her, and people could easily stand up and vote for somebody else and speak up,” he said. “Now, there is a very huge contrast,” referring to Bolduc.
In terms of the voters, advocates say the candidates haven’t talked directly to the immigrant community to inform them firsthand about their positions on this topic.
