Harris’ visit to the border wasn’t just about Arizona.

• Kamala Harris first visited the border in September as a 2024 presidential candidate.
• Harris crafted his message on immigration to counter Trump’s longstanding border.
• But her Arizona address wasn’t just about winning over voters in the Southwest.

Immigration is one of the defining issues of the 2024 election.

So it was no surprise that Vice President Kamala Harris visited the US-Mexico border in Arizona on Friday, one of the most hotly contested swing states in the country this year.

Harris’ visit to Douglas — a border town of about 16,000 — was notable because it was her first visit to the southern border since the Democratic presidential campaign launched in late July.

Both Harris and former President Donald Trump are vying to win Arizona, rallying the state’s suburban independents and its large Latino population.

Harris attacks Trump’s role in killing a bipartisan immigration bill in Congress that would have overhauled the asylum system and hired more Border Patrol agents. And Trump wants to tie Harris to the record levels of migrant apprehensions that, at various times during President Joe Biden’s tenure, have severely overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.

But Harris’ remarks in Douglas weren’t just about the Arizona win.

She wants to assure swing voters and independents across the country that she is the candidate who will fix the problem.

“Stopping transnational criminal organizations and strengthening our border is not new to me and is a long-standing priority of mine,” she said during her speech in Cochise County, a conservative jurisdiction where Trump is poised to do well in November.

Yet even in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — far from the southern border — voters cite immigration as a top issue. And in rural and exurban areas, where Democratic candidates must cut into GOP margins to win nationally, Harris’ messaging will be crucial as he races alongside Trump to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold for victory.

Border security will be essential, but especially among independents

In the most recent New York Times/Siena College poll of likely Michigan voters, immigration was the third most important issue to respondents, with 14 percent citing it as their top issue. (The economy was the top issue among likely voters overall, with 24% citing it as the most important issue, followed by abortion at 17%).

Among rural and small-town voters, immigration (at 16%) ranked as the second most important issue, with only the economy coming out ahead.

And among independents, immigration and abortion were tied (at 13 percent each) as the second most important issue. The economy was cited by 25 percent of likely Michigan independents as the top issue.

The findings are similar in Wisconsin, where the economy is the top issue (28%) among likely voters, followed by abortion (19%) and immigration (12%).

While Harris is poised to perform strongly in the Milwaukee and Detroit metro areas, the rural fringes of Wisconsin and Michigan will be critical. In these Midwestern states—as opposed to the South—there remains a sizable contingent of rural voters who continue to vote Democratic at the presidential level.

Harris’ remarks on border security were aimed heavily at those types of voters, as many would prefer a bipartisan approach to overhauling immigration while enforcing existing laws. And by drawing on her experience as California’s attorney general and prosecuting drug cartels, she is trying to turn the page on Biden’s handling of the issue, which has been widely criticized by voters in the last years.

“I reject the false choice that suggests we must choose between securing our border or creating an immigration system that is safe, orderly and humane,” Harris said during his speech on Friday. “We can and must do both.”

Trump is not giving ground on this issue

Trump’s 2016 candidacy was driven by his tough stance on immigration, and his 2024 campaign largely stuck to the same message.

The biggest exception is that Trump has used Biden’s intransigence on immigration to build a significant advantage over the president on the issue. But that was before Biden withdrew as the presumptive nominee and Harris became the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party.

Harris put Trump on the issue in a way that Biden couldn’t effectively because the president at the time was also dealing with major border crises and migrants sent by GOP Texas Gov. , Greg Abbott, in cities like Chicago and New York.

Harris on Friday accused Trump of “playing political games” with border security and emphasized his commitment to combating fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking if he wins the White House.

Trump has maintained a significant poll lead on the issue — but that lead has narrowed.

A recently released NBC News poll showed Trump with a 21-point lead (54% to 33%) over Harris among registered voters on border security. It was the former president’s biggest lead on any of the major issues that were polled, including the economy.

However, Trump’s lead on immigration issues is shrinking from a 35-point lead he previously held over Biden in an NBC News poll conducted in late January.

Trump has been highly critical of Harris’ efforts to gut his border security posts. Before the vice president’s trip to Arizona, he again sought to connect her with Biden.

“They should go back to the White House and tell the president to close the border,” the former president said.

With just over a month to go before the general election, Trump’s lead appears to be shrinking, which could be a huge boost for Harris in Georgia and North Carolina — where victories for the vice president would very likely send her to the Oval Office.