Cuomo: Democrats must unify around a sensible policy on migrants

We're in the middle of the NFL playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl. Winning teams focus on perfecting their strategies and don't rely on the expectation that the other team will lose. Right now, Democrats are relying too much on Trump not being elected, rather than focusing on the positive basis for victory.

To me, Democrats at their best solve problems, not deny them. It is ideologically based, but also pragmatic. It's a “progressive” party because it's actually progressing. We have to regain that focus.

For example, immigration has caused chaos across the country and exposed the incompetence and divisions of the Democratic Party.

President Joe Biden's administration has been unable to resolve the immigration issue, largely due to divisions within the party. The Republican gambit to put migrants on buses to blue cities only underscores Democrats' inability to predict the outcome of Biden's border policies and their continued failure to come up with workable solutions.

What does our border policy look like? And how did they expect to deal with the 2 million immigrants and asylum seekers who have and will continue to come across the border? There is currently no Democratic policy or plan, and Americans will We know that, and it highlights the incompetence of the Democratic Party's government and the ideological divisions within the party.

There is also no agreement between similar factions within the party.

For example, New York City and its Democratic neighbor New Jersey have pursued two different policies.New Jersey has been reluctant to accept asylum seekers, and in fact was denied Land for immigration facilities proposed by President Biden. New Jersey is sending buses carrying immigrants coming to New York City from Texas.

Making this point even clearer is that there is a wide variety of positions among Democrats in New York state itself. Immigrants reside almost exclusively in New York City. Democratic lawmakers and officials in other parts of the state are not welcome, fearing political opposition. New York's governor is also concerned about political repercussions and is primarily focused on containing immigration to New York City.

Compounding the confusion is that city taxpayers pay the vast majority of the cost, and the state pays only a small portion. constitutional responsibility To take care of the poor. The federal government, which has primary responsibility for managing the problem, is largely absent.

Mayor Eric Adams has been virtually single-handed in admitting immigrants, which has caused great hardship for the city and great political damage to himself. People in New York City believe that immigrants should be housed throughout the state, not just in their own city, and that the state and federal government should pay more for it. Pro-immigration Democrats are also unhappy, criticizing the poor conditions and accommodations for immigrants.

This is not to say that New York liberals take a different position than Blue Dog Democrats in the South. New York takes a different position than New Jersey, upstate Democrats take a different position than upstate Democrats, and Democratic governors take a different position than Democratic mayors.

The lack of logic, pragmatism, sustainability and fairness in the management of immigration issues is clear to all. Presidents, governors, and mayors have all been criticized by the public for apparent failures. It must be resolved.

We learned this lesson before. No matter how difficult it is, ignoring the problem will only make it worse. We have to have a clear Democratic policy before we can expect the American people to believe in Democratic policy.

The divide on immigration is echoed on pressing issues such as criminal justice, policing, homelessness, affordable housing, Israel/Palestine, and urban policy. Not all Democrats will agree with every position, but given diversity, only acting unanimously will ensure paralysis.

Yes, we are a big tent party, but we have to move forward. Our claims to be “progressive” must be reality, not rhetoric. If we want Americans to follow our policies, we must lead.

Donald Trump can't win the election, but Democrats can lose the election. We can't bet that people will vote against Trump, but rather give people a reason to vote Democrat. While we must make positive claims for the future of the Democratic Party, negative claims against Trump stand on their own.

Andrew Cuomo served as Governor of New York from 2010 to 2021.