6 times top Democrats warned against illegal immigration, called for deportations

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, February 05, 2026

6. Joe Biden: 'Punish American employers'

When he was running in the 2008 presidential campaign, former President Joe Biden came out against illegal immigration, expressed support for a border fence to protect from "corrupt Mexico" and even called for employers who hire illegal immigrants to be jailed, as noted by CNN in 2019.

During an event in 2007, then-Sen. Biden said the government has "to get tougher with employers."

"In fact, the person we should send to jail is not the illegals, we send to jail the employers," he said. "If you knowingly hire an illegal alien, then you should be held accountable. Because let me tell you, the next person I hear tell me that my labor guys aren't willing to work hard, that's why you have illegals putting up sheetrock, then I want to tell you, you don't know my guys."

During a Democratic primary debate that same year, Biden also said he would not tolerate sanctuary cities. "Yes or no, would you allow those cities to ignore the federal law?" an audience member asked him, to which he replied, "No."

When he was running against Trump in 2019, the Biden campaign told CNN that he "believes that the Trump Administration's approach to immigration, including its crackdown on sanctuary cities and especially its repugnant treatment of migrant children, is contrary to our values as a nation."

Under Biden's administration, an estimated 10-20 million illegal immigrants poured across the U.S. border. These numbers included approximately 323,000 unaccompanied minors who remained unaccounted for as of August 2024, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Inspector General released that month. Border czar Tom Homan announced on Jan. 30 that authorities have located more than 145,000 children who had been unaccounted for.