Morning Distribution for Wednesday, April 5, 2023

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Morning Distribution]( Wednesday, April 5, 2023 Your daily briefing from FiveThirtyEight --------------------------------------------------------------- The Morning Story [US President Joe Biden walks along the US-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023.]( [Biden Is Moving Right On Immigration. Will That Hurt Him In 2024?]( By [Alex Samuels]( President Biden’s administration recently announced [new asylum restrictions]( [and other proposed stringent initiatives]( to deter [an influx of migrants]( at the U.S.-Mexico border. But for some Democrats, the latest crackdowns stand in stark contrast to the “[fair and humane immigration system]( [that Biden]( [once promised voters]( following the harsher policies of his predecessors, [Donald Trump]( and [Barack Obama](. [A number]( [of reporters]( ([including my colleague Nathaniel Rakich]( have speculated that Biden’s [pivot to the center]( represents an attempt to shore up electoral weak spots as he prepares for his [imminent reelection campaign]( after all, Americans regularly [tell pollsters]( that they [trust Republicans on immigration]( more than Democrats. And, sure, there are likely practical considerations at play, too — the 2022 fiscal year [set a record]( for migrant encounters with border patrol at the southern border with Mexico. The good news for Biden, though, is that even though his latest moves have [drawn ire from]( [notable progressives]( — who have even compared his tack on immigration to Trump’s — he probably won’t face blowback from Democratic voters in 2024. For one thing, Biden isn’t facing a competitive primary (at least not now) and the general election is still far away. But not only is immigration usually [less of an important issue]( to Democrats than Republicans, [recent data]( also [suggests that Americans]( might not be quite as pro-immigration as they were previously. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: Why Tuesday Is The Highest Stakes Election Day Of 2023]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.