Podcast: Long Island's Immigration Politics
Illegal immigration across the southern border has long been an issue that animates Republicans, but recent surges have made it a top concern for voters across the political spectrum. More than 100,000 migrants have come to New York City, and thousands of people are living in shelters in neighborhoods around the city while attempting to obtain legal status.
The presence of these newcomers made immigration the top issue in a recent special election for Congress. The winner, Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, won by talking about border security, and his party-mates hope he has cracked the code for parrying GOP attacks on the issue.
For the last installment of “Chasing the Base,” I traveled to Queens and Long Island to speak with officials and voters about how immigration has become an issue in places far from the southern border. Here’s a photo essay based on the trip that I put together with my colleague Ariel Zambelich, with images that photographer Kholood Eid made earlier this month. You can get this episode — and another one coming soon — by subscribing to the WSJ’s “What’s News” feed in whatever app you use to get podcasts.
My big takeaway: Republicans have an advantage on the issue, and they're forcing Democrats to rethink their approach to immigration politics. Democrats do have a chance to counter these GOP attacks, as Suozzi’s victory showed. But taking that roadmap nationwide would mean getting tougher than they've traditionally been about sealing the border, maybe even funding a wall.
TRIP NOTES:
++ We attended a victory party for Suozzi at Leonard’s Palazzo, and I think it was the swankiest political event I’ve ever covered. There were multiple open bars, carving stations, passed hors d’oeuvres and a charcuterie table as high as an elephant’s eye.
++ At the Wantagh parade we met a guy with a DeLorean, and he let me sit in it. (He wouldn’t tell us his name for an interview.)
ONE YEAR STOLEN: It’s been a full year since my WSJ colleague, Evan Gershkovich, has been unjustly detained in Russia. Evan was doing his job — reporting — when he was arrested and charged with espionage, which he, the WSJ and the U.S. government all deny.
I haven’t yet had the privilege of meeting Evan, but some of the people I met during my time in Germany worked with him closely. Evan is close with Eliot Brown, who I’ve known since we were colleagues at the New York Observer in (gulp) 2009. Eliot lives near Evan in London, and wrote this piece to mark Evan’s stolen year:
There has been a burst of weddings and engagements of friends from high school and college. He has missed a year of monumental changes and intrigue in Russian reporting—a cornerstone of many of his friendships with reporters and a key part of his identity. He has missed a year of Arsenal, the Mets and the Jets—his favorite teams. He has missed the final episodes of “Succession,” the finale of “Ted Lasso” and the 16th season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
It's a busy world and we live busy lives. Attention is fleeting and news cycle are quick and constant. I think it’s particularly important, given that, to keep attention on Evan’s story. I think of him often, and hope you will put also put him in your thoughts and prayers.
THE QUESTION: What did F. Scott Fitzgerald call the Great Neck peninsula?
Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi.
THE LAST ANSWER: According to the USDA, Florida’s top crops (by dollar value) in Florida are tomatoes, melons and sweet corn. Oranges are number five, behind … potatoes!