Senator J.D. Vance is No Moderate; Vance Champions Trump’s Extreme Anti-Immigrant Agenda

Washington, D.C. – Today, Donald Trump announced Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his Vice Presidential pick. The Ohio lawmaker, who’s supported several anti-immigrant bills in the Senate and previously defended Trump’s comments about migrants “poisoning the blood of America,” is aligned with Trump’s extreme immigration agenda that would rip families apart and see long-settled immigrants deported en masse.

In response, Immigration Hub Executive Director Kerri Talbot issued the following statement:

“It is unfortunate but not surprising that Donald Trump selected notorious nativist Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. The Senator is in lock step with Trump’s dystopian agenda for immigrants and has consistently advocated for legislation that imposes harsh penalties on immigrants and restricts their access to essential services. Vance is one of the far-right’s loudest conspiracy theorists–promoting swaths of racist misinformation about immigrants and inventing baseless accusations against the Biden-Harris administration.

“Ultimately, Vance’s selection does nothing to change Trump’s ugly vision for the nation in 2025. From the terrifying blueprint for immigration laid out in Project 2025 to the Nazi-era anti-immigrant rhetoric emboldening violent extremists, immigrant communities and American families alike continue to face an existential threat from the far-right. Trump has only gained one more mouthpiece to elevate his plans to separate families, devastate the economy, and undermine the nation’s long-held values.

“Ahead of November, Trump and Senator Vance will continue to deploy millions of dollars on anti-immigrant voter outreach and media. The Biden-Harris campaign must respond with equal funds, reminding voters of their record of keeping families together, including the administration’s popular executive actions addressing the border and providing pathways to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of hardworking individuals and his efforts to secure the border.”

Highlights of Vance’s Extreme Anti-Immigrant Record:

• “We need to deport every single person who invaded our country illegally.” (July 8, 2024)

• “We now have an historic invasion, at our southern border.” (May 22, 2024)

• In response to Trump’s “poisoning the blood” debate comment: “He said illegal immigrants were poisoning the blood of this country, which is objectively and obviously true to anybody who looks at the statistics about fentanyl overdoses.” (June 12, 2024)

• “Biden’s open border policies are bringing crime and deadly fentanyl here. Americans are dying because of it. Finish the wall. End welfare for illegals. Cut all funding for sanctuary cities. Secure the border. Protect our citizens. Put America First.” (March 8, 2022)

• Vance is co-sponsor on S.2824, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which is the Senate version of H.R. 2 and resumes construction on the wall, criminalizes undocumented immigrants, and undermines asylum standards

• Vance is a co-sponsor on S.Res.362, a resolution attempting to illegally allow governors to deport migrants and asylum seekers.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.