Democrat Tom Suozzi leaned into immigration. He says Harris should too.

August 2, 2024

Publication: Washington Post

By: Analysis by Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor with research by Alec Dent

Rep. Suozzi: Harris needs to ‘lean in’ on border security

Six questions for … Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.). Suozzi won a special election in February to fill a Long Island seat vacated by former congressman George Santos (R-N.Y.) who was expelled after he was convicted of fraud and other crimes. Suozzi won his race in part because he leaned into immigration and border security, usually politically perilous issues for Democrats.

We spoke to him about how the likely Democratic nominee, Vice President Harris, should address border security on the campaign trail and her impact on House races, especially in blue states like New York.

Why did you decide to lean into immigration in your campaign?

Well, I’ve been around a long time in public service, government and politics, and I’ve always believed that you have to talk about what the people are talking about. I don’t know who was it was like, you know, Eisenhower, or somebody who said: The best politician, the best elected official, was the one that says what the people are thinking already. And I know that this is an issue that is top of mind for people.

Democrats were worried about the issue in your special election, which was days after the bipartisan border deal fell apart. What resonated with voters?

I had always been someone who talked about bipartisan solutions to problems. I’ve been working on the issue of immigration since I was the mayor of my hometown of Glen Cove, in 1994 when I was 31 years old. I addressed the issue head on, despite the fact that many consultants and politicos were saying, “Hey, that’s a Republican issue. Why are you talking about it?” I said, “That’s not a Republican issue. It’s an American issue. It’s what Democrats and Republicans and independents are all concerned about.”

Anybody who looks at those images on television of people streaming across the border is worried. And that doesn’t mean that we’re not understanding, that we’re not compassionate, and, you know, we support the Dreamers but we have to address the fact that border security is a real concern of people.

Republicans are painting Harris as a border czar. How should she address what could be one of her biggest liabilities?

I was very excited on Tuesday night when she came out with a very strong speech and also a commercial that made the argument similar to what I was saying in my campaign, which is that we had this bipartisan deal negotiated that was going to secure the border. And in comes Trump, swoops in and says, “Oh, I don’t want to do that deal. I want to run on the chaos, and I don’t want to give Biden to win.”

That’s the most cynical, awful type of politics, where people just want the issue for their own personal political purposes, instead of trying to actually solve the problem. And I think in my race I felt the people would see through that, and they did. And I think they’re going to see through it in this presidential election, and I think that the vice president should continue to lean into this issue, saying, “I recognize this is an issue. I’m going to fix it, and this is how I would do it. And Trump had an opportunity, and he sabotaged it.”

Harris’ new ad says exactly that: “There are two choices in this election. The one who will fix our broken immigration system. And the one who is trying to stop her.” Was it effective?

Yeah, I am ecstatic. This is the one issue she needs to lean into heavily before the Republicans try and misrepresent her record.

And I think she should lean in further to building a relationship with the president-elect of Mexico, who happens to be a woman. … Mexico’s got such an important role here.

So the next step should be to lay out what the plan is going forward to get legislation done on a bipartisan basis. I think the commercial was great. I think the kickoff speech in Atlanta was great, and I think that the vice president should continue to say that we recognize this is an issue and we want to solve it.

In the midterms, Democratic House candidates struggled in blue states like California and New York. Can Democrats in blue states do better down ballot this cycle?

There’s no question that there are challenges. I mean, if you if you ask the people on these issues, are these top issues of immigration, crime and affordability, you know, don’t poll as well.

That can be flipped on its head simply by recognizing what the people are saying and addressing them. So yes, the border is an issue. Immigration is an issue. This is our solution. How do we not get sabotaged by Trump? Regarding affordability, you know, we see the economy getting better. We see the steps that have been taken regarding gas prices, regarding insulin, regarding prescription drugs, or other issues, like the state and local tax deduction, which is peculiar to my district.

This idea of defund the police, it’s absurd. It’s the worst statement in politics I’ve ever heard in my career. We need to support law enforcement. It’s essential to our long-term being. So I’m just very happy to see that the vice president is leaning in that direction.

Will Harris be better for New York Democrats in November than Biden?

It’s different for different districts based on registration and their demographic makeup, but I think that she’s got a great story to tell regarding her history as a prosecutor. I’d focus on when she was a D.A., prosecuting crimes, and I think the fact that she’s she’s taking on immigration is 100 percent spot on. I think we’re in a great position.

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