Texas National Guard soldiers stand on patrol near the bank of the Rio Grande on April 2, 2024 in El Paso, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Both candidates for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District have said they’d like to see bipartisan immigration reform in the future.
However, the incumbent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, voted for a bipartisan border deal this past session. His challenger, Republican Austin Theriault, said he wouldn’t have supported that bill, which failed after former president and now-Republican nominee for president Donald Trump argued it would be a political gift to President Joe Biden.
Immigration has been a focus of both campaigns for CD2, one of the nation’s most-watched U.S. House races as Republicans are viewing it as a pathway to grow their currently slim majority in the lower chamber. Theriault, a freshman state legislator, is challenging Golden’s reelection bid for a fourth term.
On the issue, among others, Theriault has selectively highlighted Golden’s record, adhering to his oft-repeated refrain that Golden is a “flip-flopper.” Meanwhile, Golden has similarly pointed to his own record as evidence that he has long supported increasing funding for border security, often against his own party.
Despite the cherry picking, the two candidates have more in common than not when it comes to immigration policy.
While Theriault would not have voted for the bipartisan bill considered this year, he said during his first debate with Golden on Oct. 3, “I believe it was a decent start.”
Theriault’s public statements leave a lack of clarity on where his immigration policy stances differ from Golden, and his campaign website does not list issues or policies. Theriault has declined multiple requests for comment from Maine Morning Star on the issue.
Theriault, who has been endorsed by Trump, has criticized the Biden administration for rolling back Trump-era policies, such as “remain in Mexico,” officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which sent people who asked for asylum at the southern border back to Mexico to await appearances in U.S. immigration court.
“We have an influx of people coming to this country who I know are looking for a better opportunity but unfortunately there’s a percentage of them that are coming here for the wrong reason,” Theriault said during the debate. “So, I believe we have to have comprehensive immigration reform, but we have to start by securing the border.”
When it comes to securing the border, Theriault often references Trump’s plan to build a wall. During a primary debate at the GOP state convention in the spring, Theriault said his first act if elected would be to “fund the completion of Trump’s border wall.”
During the Oct. 3 debate, Theriault claimed Golden has voted against efforts to continue building the border wall. Golden voted against a partisan House immigration bill, which was considered a nonstarter in the Senate. It sought to restart the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and reinstate the “remain in Mexico” policy, among other measures.
However, Golden has separately called on the Biden administration to reinstate “remain in Mexico” and give border patrol back the authority to deport migrants under Title 42.
Golden has frequently voted to provide more funding for border security, a record he emphasized in response to Theriault’s critiques during the debate. “Across six years, I have voted for about $80 billion for [Customs and Border Patrol], for [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], about $7 billion for the border wall,” Golden said. “That’s my record.”
Golden has often been among few Democrats joining majority-Republican backed immigration reforms and has publicly condemned the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
During the first debate, Theriault also mentioned the National Border Patrol Council’s recent endorsement of him. In response, Golden pointed out that that same border patrol union had endorsed the bipartisan legislation Austin said he would have opposed.
Theriault, who previously touted his endorsement from Trump, has shifted to presenting himself as a more bipartisan lawmaker — an identity that has typically been Golden’s calling card.
Theriault said during the debate he is proud to come from an area of the St. John Valley that tends to be more Democratic than other parts of the conservative region.
“I’m running as a Republican, but I’m running to represent all people,” Theriault said.
The unsuccessful bipartisan reform bill had also proposed changes to the timeline for asylum seekers to obtain work permits, a reform Maine’s entire congressional delegation has supported, including Golden.
Currently, asylum seekers are required under federal law to wait 180 days after filing for asylum before obtaining legal authority to work.
“Jared believes that the current wait period serves no one,” the Golden campaign shared in a statement to Maine Morning Star. “Legally present asylum claimants should be able to work, to provide for themselves and their families.”
Theriault did not respond to questions about his stance on the waiting period. During the first debate when asked about it, he said the U.S. should focus on securing the border.
“Yes, these people should be allowed to work, but why do we have the situation in the first place,” Theriault said, “where there’s people here that are on the system, using general assistance, when we could have addressed it in the first place, had a controlled immigration process.”
There is also a declared, unenrolled write-in candidate running for Maine’s 2nd congressional district, Surry resident Diana Merenda, who Maine Morning Star also asked about the bipartisan immigration deal. When asked whether she would support the deal, Merenda — whose platform centers opposition to Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza, which she has called genocidal — said, “Stop sending billions to Israel. Focus on America here.”
Regarding the wait time for asylum seekers to obtain work permits, Merenda pointed to Maine’s workforce gap.
“If I apply for a job, my future employer can do a background check within a couple of business days at most,” Merenda said. “Why do people think that there should be a mandated 180 days waiting time? The probable reason is to delay delay delay because many folks don’t really want immigrants on some level so let’s make it really really hard for them to enter our country. Honestly, if a background check cannot be completed in 30 days’ time then we have a different problem.”
Curious about the immigration policy positions of Maine’s other candidates for U.S. Congress? Read about the stances of Maine’s candidates for the U.S. House for the 1st Congressional District, as well as the U.S. Senate.
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