Larry Hogan is placing a strong emphasis on illegal immigration as a key focus of his 2024 Senate campaign in Maryland. In contrast, his opponent, Angela Alsobrooks, seems to avoid mentioning the topic altogether.
Larry Hogan, a former two-term governor of Maryland, is the Republican nominee for the state’s U.S. Senate election. Ever since securing the primary election victory on May 14, Hogan has been actively campaigning to address the issue of illegal immigration, which has seen a significant surge under the Biden administration.
“Our country is facing a humanitarian crisis due to the open southern border, which is causing harm to our communities and creating chaos nationwide,” stated Hogan’s campaign in a response to The Center Square. “Instead of finding a solution, politicians have been using this issue for their own political gain for years. It is time to put an end to this.”
Hogan has taken to his Twitter account to express his concerns about “the border crisis” and has placed blame on both political parties for their failure to address the issue. In April, he even traveled to Texas to personally tour the U.S. southern border with Mexico, a tactic often employed by Republican candidates to criticize Democrats on this matter.
Hogan is presenting a conservative stance on border security in a predominantly Democratic state, which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) score of D+14. According to the American Immigration Council, it is estimated that Maryland is home to around 275,000 undocumented immigrants, with at least 120,000 of them being family members of U.S. citizens.
Angela Alsobrooks, Hogan’s opponent, has remained conspicuously silent on the subjects of border security and immigration throughout her campaign. Rather than addressing these pressing concerns, Alsobrooks has chosen to focus on issues such as abortion, gun violence, and climate change in her public statements and social media presence.
Alsobrooks, the County Executive of Prince George’s, has emphasized her support for “undocumented” immigrants and her efforts to protect them from deportation whenever she has spoken about immigration.
“Angela demonstrated her strong support and actively worked towards the passage of legislation that would enable undocumented immigrants to acquire driver’s licenses,” states Alsobrooks’ campaign website. The website also highlights her dedicated efforts in preventing law enforcement officers from assisting federal authorities in the deportation of non-violent offenders.
Alsobrooks has made a strong commitment to wholeheartedly endorsing a pathway to U.S. citizenship for individuals who are currently residing in the country without legal authorization. This particular policy has been a longstanding priority for Democrats, although Republicans have criticized it as granting “amnesty” to undocumented immigrants. On her website, Alsobrooks references the “American Dream and Promise Act” as a model. This legislation, which was passed by the Democratic-led House in the 117th Congress, aims to provide legal status to individuals who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Hogan and Alsobrooks hold contrasting views on the border, highlighting the ongoing partisan divide on the issue. Republicans are using illegal immigration as a central argument in their campaigns, using it to criticize the Biden administration. Democrats, on the other hand, accuse Republicans of weaponizing the issue without genuine interest in finding solutions.
In February, the clash between Senate Republicans and Democrats reached its peak when the former voted against a bill that aimed to implement border security reforms and curb illegal crossings. Democrats pointed fingers at former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president in 2024, alleging that he influenced fellow Republicans to reject the bill by criticizing it. Republicans, on the other hand, argued that the bill would have granted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom House Republicans impeached due to the border crisis, even more discretionary power in shaping border policy.
Alsobrooks is currently ahead of Hogan in the polls, with an average lead of 0.6%. However, her campaign declined to comment when asked for a response.