What are McMullin and Lee's stances on immigration?

SALT LAKE — Sen. Mike Lee and his challenger Evan McMullin have both said the U.S. needs immigration reform, but where do they stand on the issue?

More than 74% of Republicans and and 36% of Democrats say immigration is very important to their vote in the 2022 congressional elections, according to a recent survey of voters by the Pew Research Center. The topic has also gotten attention from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox recently, as he has addressed immigration multiple times, calling out politicians in Washington for not passing any kind of immigration reform.

"It is absolutely maddening to me that politicians in Washington, D.C., have put their own self-interest ahead of solving what is the easiest of the most controversial problems in our nation to solve," he said during a recent news conference. "If you were to listen to the 10 most controversial issues in our country, this is the one that has by far the most bipartisan support."

McMullin said he agrees with the governor's stance.

"Gov. Cox is right, politicians in Washington — in both parties — have failed to take common-sense steps to secure our border and reform our immigration system, and as a result, America is less safe and less prosperous," McMullin said, adding that there are "good and decent people in Washington" working to address immigration challenges.

"But just as Gov. Cox said, the extremes on both sides would rather let the issue fester and use it as a campaign issue to attack their opponents, raise money and hold on to power," he said.

Lee's office did not respond to questions about Cox's remarks.

Both candidates, however, have wielded personal life experiences during talks about immigrants, with Lee discussing his time as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in southern Texas, and McMullin speaking of his work as a CIA officer and national security advisor.

Border security

Lee has been a strong proponent of border security during his terms in the Senate, and McMullin has also argued for border security during his campaign.

"In the Senate, I will reject the politics of division and extremism embodied by Sen. Lee, and will instead work constructively with senators in both parties to secure the border and reform our immigration system," McMullin said in an email to KSL.com. His campaign website states that McMullin believes keeping America safe can be achieved, in part, by securing borders and treating immigrants humanely.

Lee's proposed solutions for immigration include:

• Reinstituting the Remain in Mexico program, or Migrant Protection Protocols created by Pres. Donald Trump, which forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases were pending.
• Removing per-country limitations on employment-based visas, increasing the per-country limitation for family-sponsored immigrants.
• Requiring asylum-seekers to apply for and be denied asylum in another country before seeking asylum in the U.S.

Lee has argued that the U.S. missed an opportunity to secure the border during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the majority of the processing of most immigration cases was suspended and U.S. border officials expelled migrants and asylum-seekers on public health grounds.

"At the end of the last administration, the border was secure for the first time in my lifetime as an adult," Lee said during an October debate. "(President Biden) opened the doors, and we've had millions of illegal immigrants flowing into the country ever since then, bringing in fentanyl, opening the door for human trafficking. This is disgraceful."

Claims that undocumented immigrants are largely responsible for fentanyl smuggling have been proven false. Although fentanyl seizures often occur at border ports of entry, mostly U.S. citizens — not migrants — are the ones smuggling the drug. In fact, 86% of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers in 2021 were U.S. citizens — compared to just 8.9% for immigrants who entered the country illegally, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Likewise, immigration and human trafficking experts say Biden's border policies are not enabling human trafficking.

Citizenship for Dreamers

Both Lee and McMullin say they're against deporting undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as minors, a group often referred to as Dreamers. A portion of those immigrants are also recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants them temporary protection from deportation and work permits.

For Lee, though, giving Dreamers citizenship seems to be a nonstarter until the border is secured.

"I don't think there is a single member of Congress — House or Senate, Republican or Democrat — who thinks that we can or should or even could try to round up and deport people who were brought here as infants by no choice of their own and have lived their entire lives here, (who) in many cases, don't even speak the language of the country of their birth and have no connection to it," Lee said. "It's not realistic, it's unwise and it's cruel."

He added there is also a path for undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for DACA to receive legal status, but he reiterated that the border must first be secured.

Lee has rallied against legislation that would grant citizenship to an estimated 2.7 million people who arrived as children or who have temporary permission to stay in the U.S. The bill, known as the American Dream and Promise Act, passed in the House and has not yet been voted on in the Senate.

McMullin said he does support citizenship for Dreamers.

"These people have been brought to America as children by their parents, perhaps others, through no fault of their own," McMullin said during a debate in October. "I do believe we need to enforce our laws and secure the border, but Dreamers should be given citizenship."

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. For more information, visit vote.utah.gov.

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