Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., has complicated views on border security, and that might have something to do with the fact that the North Dakota Democrat is running for reelection in a state President Trump carried by double digits.
Asked yesterday whether or not funding for a border wall should be included in immigration reform, Heitkamp said she prefers the term “border security.” Last year, Heitkamp elaborated further in committee, saying that “all of us share the same goal, which is border security. Border security protects not only this country, but has a way of protecting people to the south. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.”
But from her voting record, it’s obvious Heitkamp’s border security doesn’t look like what Trump imagines. Heitkamp voted to filibuster legislation punishing sanctuary cities, which, by policy, refuse to cooperate with the feds in deporting convicted criminals. Heitkamp wishes her Republican colleagues could “get beyond” the border wall. And Heitkamp even voted against funding for a measly 350-miles of double fencing on the border.
It’s unclear what border security actually means. But expect Heitkamp and her fellow Democrats in red states to keep expressing vague support for it.
