By Catherine DiBona
CCC Journalism Program
With the 2024 presidential election just weeks away, former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris have been at the forefront of many people’s minds, including the students of Camden County College.
With both candidates harboring extremely different policies regarding immigration, political unease has found itself in the minds of voters across the country. Both candidates want to see tougher border security, but their likeness in policy ends there.
Trump’s view on immigration, according to his website, remains the same as it was during his 2016 and 2020 campaigns: to continue building a wall along the United States-Mexico border, heighten border security, engage in mass deportations and end employment benefits for undocumented immigrants in America.
Harris has made it evident to voters that she does not want her presidency to be seen as a continuation of Joe Biden’s administration. According to her campaign website, her experience as San Francisco’s district attorney allows her to bring a unique perspective. Harris wants to see families kept together and provide immigrants with faster access to citizenship, while also maintaining security along the border.
Camden County College student Jasmine Claybore wants to see families kept together also.
“Whichever president gets voted, I would hope for them not to separate families,” Claybore said. “I want to see families kept together and for people looking for better lives to be treated like humans.”
Online student Tatyanna Adams said, “I mostly don’t want immigrants to be treated as cruel and for them to be able to get in legally. It’s too many people who feel like they have to resort to coming over illegally and there is a reason for that.”
As for what changes she wants to see in immigration laws in America, Adams stated, “I feel like I would like to see the wall coming down. I feel like the amount of illegal people is extremely inflated and the wall doesn’t keep illegal immigrants out; it’s there for show.”
Early voting via mail-in ballots for the 47th president of the United States has begun and polls will be open for in-person voting on Nov. 5. Camden County College has provided voting information in the Cyber Cafe on the Blackwood campus.
