Republicans spent the second night of the Republican National Convention contrasting legal immigrants who followed U.S. laws to enter the country and “illegal” immigrants.
Numerous speakers drew on the evening’s “Make America Safe Once Again” theme by attacking those who have crossed the border illegally, in many instances calling them dangerous people — a major GOP campaign message and one that former President Donald Trump repeatedly promotes. They also held up their own family experiences as models that other immigrants should emulate.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran for the GOP nomination, said in his speech Tuesday that people get ahead in America “not on the color of your skin, but on the content of your character and your contributions.”
“It means we believe in the rule of law, and I say this as the kid of legal immigrants who came to this country. That means your first act of entering this country cannot break the law. That is why we will seal the southern border on day one,” Ramaswamy said, referring to a pledge by Trump if he wins in November.
Ramaswamy, who has expressed interest in filling the Ohio Senate seat held by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said that like his parents, every legal immigrant deserves the opportunity to secure a better life for his or her children in the U.S.
“But our message to illegal immigrants is also this: We will return you to your country of origin, not because you’re all bad people, but because you broke the law, and the United States of America was founded on the rule of law,” Ramaswamy said to rousing applause from the convention crowd in Milwaukee.
Virginia’s Republican candidate for the Senate, Hung Cao, said in his speech that his family immigrated from Vietnam, escaping the country just before the fall of Saigon to the communists.
Cao, who is seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in November, also chastised immigrants who don’t “embrace” American culture and rule of law.
“Millions of illegal aliens flood our borders,” he said. “They fly Hamas flags on our campuses, and they shout ‘death to America.’ As an immigrant to this great country, let me be very clear: To everyone who comes here, don’t ask for the American dream if you’re not willing to obey the American law and embrace the American culture.”
Other speakers focused almost solely on enforcing immigration laws.
Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who’s running for the Senate, said that under Republican leadership, the border would be secured.
“If you came here illegally under Joe Biden, you’re going back to where you came from under Donald Trump,” he said.
Kari Lake, who’s running for the Senate in Arizona, falsely claimed that Democrats and her Democratic opponent, Rep. Ruben Gallego, have handed over control of her state and the border “to the drug cartels.”
She then mimicked a line often used by Trump: “Criminals and deadly drugs are pouring in. Our children are dying.”
