Knocking on doors for Senator Tester’s re-election, canvassers ask about the issues that are important to the voter this year. They have found that some MAGA Sheehy supporters and even ordinary Montanans have been misled by Sheehy ads about Jon’s record in the Senate on the issue of immigration and border security.
While it is not a canvasser’s job to attempt to de-program MAGA cult followers at their doorsteps, I believe having a knowledge of Jon’s true record on immigration and border security is helpful to canvassers. Of course, such knowledge is most helpful when people ask convassers whether the propaganda is true.
So, What’s the Border Security Problem?
The US Border Patrol keeps statistics on southwest (US-Mexico border) land “encounters.” Before Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, encounters included only apprehensions. Starting in Fiscal Year 2021, total encounters include apprehensions and pandemic-related expulsions. (FYI, the Federal fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends on September 31. The full terms of Senators begin at noon on the third day of January. The terms of US presidents begin at noon on the twentieth day of January. Jon has served under three presidents: Bush Jr. 2001-2009, Obama 2009-2017, Trump 2017-2021, and Biden 2021-2025.)
The chart below presents the number of apprehensions and the total number of encounters by FY from 2006 when Jon Tester was first elected senator (in November, with his first term beginning in January 2007) to 2023. It is clear from the figure that the most recent surge in encounters at the US-Mexico border began in 2019. Encounters declined in 2020 when the border was closed due to the COVID pandemic and then surged again.
Senator Tester strongly encouraged President Biden to keep Trump-era policies like COVID-related (Title 42) and “Remain in Mexico” expulsions in place (even though those policies would continue to increase total encounter numbers, as shown on the above chart) because he believes that decision would be best for Montana. The Biden administration resumed “Remain in Mexico” expulsions in December 2021, but COVID-related expulsions ended in May 2023.
The surge in apprehensions continued into Biden’s term because Trump, MAGA Republicans, and their enablers in the media have made border security a “wedge issue” and have used it to delude and confuse American citizens for the purposes of winning US elections and staying in power.
For example, The Dallas Morning News reported in September 2023 that a July survey conducted in four Central American countries found that many in those countries had heard disinformation that the United States had an “open border” policy. The executive director of America’s Voice, an advocacy group that promotes immigration reform, said human smugglers were amplifying the false “open border” narrative to lure Central Americans to the United States border, under the impression they would be granted asylum upon arrival. BSP Research, which conducted the survey, asserted that the disinformation campaign originated with politicians and conservative media. (I don’t anticipate hearing MAGA Republicans quoting the cartoon character Pogo any time soon, but if I did it would make sense for them to say “We have met the enemy, and it is us.”)
As another example of MAGA disinformation, Media Matters used a video database (Snapstream.com) to track the use of the term “open borders,” finding that Fox News and Newsmax each used the term over 3,000 times from November 2020 through August 2023. And we have all heard about Trump’s vocal and repeated efforts to close our “open borders” with a tall metal wall, an ineffective solution to a complex problem. Apparently advocates for a tall wall have not heard about ladders, portable electric saws, or the Maginot Line. But, then again, the last thing many unprincipled Republican politicians appear to want is for the “border security” wedge issue to be solved.
What Has Jon Tester Been Doing about Border Security?
Below is Jon’s voting record on border security legislation during his last two six-year terms. The facts show that Jon Tester is not a flip-flopper. It is a lie for Sheehy to say “he had many years to come up with solutions to the border mess, but only cynically took action during an election year.”
In 2013, during the Obama administration, Senator Tester voted YES on bipartisan Senate Bill (S.) 744 that was characterized as the most comprehensive immigration overhaul bill since 1986. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 provided for increased border security, including 20,000 new border patrol officers, completion of 700 miles of border fencing and new border surveillance equipment. The bill also provided a “path to citizenship” for some eleven million illegal immigrants already living in the country. Gallup polling found the overhaul was broadly supported by both Democrats and Republicans. The Speaker of the House refused to allow consideration of the bill in the House, promising “to do our own bill.” That did not happen and the bill died in the House. During the consideration of the bill, Senator Tester voted NO on three “poison-pill” amendments to S. 744 designed to sink the bipartisan bill.
In 2015, during the Obama Administration, Senator Tester voted NO on ending a filibuster of (and thus allowing a Senate vote on) S. 2146 that prohibited “sanctuary jurisdictions” from receiving federal grants and increased penalties for an undocumented immigrant who reenters the United States after being deported. The bill died in the Senate.
In 2016, during the Obama administration, Senator Tester voted NO on ending a filibuster of S. 2193 that would have increased the maximum prison term (to ten years) for an undocumented immigrant who reenters the United States after being denied admission or deported. The bill died in the Senate.
In 2018, during the Trump administration, Senator Tester voted YES to end a filibuster of an amendment of House Resolution (H.R.) 2579 that authorized residency for certain undocumented immigrants in exchange for a law that prohibits them from sponsoring their parents for legal status. Senator Tester also voted YES to end a filibuster of a bipartisan amendment to H.R. 2579 that authorized permanent residence on a conditional basis for certain undocumented immigrants in exchange for stricter border security measures. Senator Tester voted NO on ending a filibuster of two other amendments and H.R. 2579 died in the Senate.
In 2019, during the Trump administration, Senator Tester voted YES on bipartisan H.R. 3401 that that appropriated $4.5 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations to federal departments and agencies for humanitarian assistance and border security in response to migrants attempting to enter the United States at the southwest border, in response to the significant rise in migrants seeking entry at that border.
In 2022, during the Biden administration, Senator Tester voted NO on Senate Joint Resolution 45 that would have eliminated an existing rule requiring that an asylum seeker subject to expedited removal be screened by an asylum officer for a credible fear of persecution or torture. The joint resolution died in the Senate.
In 2023, during the Biden administration, Senator Tester voted YES on H.R. 2882, while Senator Daines voted NO. Through his role as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Tester secured significant wins for border security and law enforcement in the FY2024 government funding appropriations package, including funding for 22,000 U.S. Border Patrol Agents to secure areas between ports of entry. President Biden signed the bill into law.
In 2023, during the Biden administration, Senator Tester co-sponsored the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, that requires or authorizes various actions, including sanctions, targeting foreign persons (individuals and entities) engaged in trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit opioids. The Act was included in H.R. 815 which was passed by the House and signed by the President, becoming law.
In 2024, during the Biden administration, Senator Tester co-sponsored S. 3933 that requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U. S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement. Senator Tester was the first Democratic Senator to co-sponsor the bill. The bill has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The House has passed an identical version of the bill, H.R. 7511.
In 2024, during the Biden administration, Senator Tester voted YES to end a filibuster of bipartisan S. 4361 that authorized emergency supplemental appropriations for border security and combatting fentanyl for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024. Montana’s Senator Daines voted against ending the filibuster (as did many other MAGA Republicans) and the bill died in the Senate.
Tim Sheehy, Senator Tester’s opponent (and Trump toady), announced his opposition to the bipartisan bill even BEFORE the text of the bill was released. Sheehy put politics over border security, while Senator Tester worked across the aisle with Republicans to end the crisis.
Senator Tester described the real border security problem: “The hypocrisy is stunning. Senators and House members who went back to their home states and talked about how bad the southern border was and how we needed to act now have flip-flopped.” After a report that ICE was considering mass releases after the failure of Congress to pass the border security bill, Senator Tester chastised his colleagues: “Your public opposition to passing a bipartisan, effective border security bill for political gain makes America less safe. I am calling on you both to stop playing politics and pass this bill as soon as possible. What is happening at the southern border is unacceptable, plain and simple. Montanans from every corner of my state tell me they want a secure border and a solution to the fentanyl crisis.”
Conservative Senator James Lankford (R-OK) who helped negotiate the proposal stated that the bill would have stopped 800,000 entries in the past four months if it had already been signed into law. Senator Lankford and the other sponsors of the bill summarized their perspectives on the cynical nature of the Republicans’ rejection of the bill in speeches on the floor of the Senator.
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell admitted publicly that his own party has played politics with securing the border, stating: “I followed the instructions of my conference, who were insisting that we tackle this in October. I mean, it’s actually our side that wanted to tackle the border issue. We started it, adding that “things have changed over the last four months.” McConnell said.
What changed was that Trump selfishly opposed the bill solely to benefit his campaign. Trump’s hammering of the deal, while he uses immigration as a campaign issue, and his demands that Republicans reject it won the day. McConnell was no doubt reminded of Truman’s famous quote: “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.”
As Senator Tester’s voting record reveals, year after year he has consistently supported border security bills that protect Montanans. For Sheehy and Trump to criticize him for doing the same in 2024 proves the adage: “no good deed goes unpunished.”
MAGA Republicans and their enablers in the media have unfortunately continued to use border security as a “wedge issue” to divide (and conquer) American citizens for the purposes of winning US elections and staying in power. Recent immigrants (as opposed to immigrants like Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich Drumpz) are villainized by MAGA Republicans as “the other” and labeled “murderers” and “rapists” just as Hitler labeled the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and the disabled as “the other.” The truth is the data do not support claims that the United States is experiencing a surge in crime caused by immigrants. We have to do our best to ensure that voters are convinced that such people cannot and should not govern our country.