Is Sherrod Brown Trying to Change His Tune on Immigration?

In one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races, Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown is seeking a comeback after his 2024 loss, this time against Republican Sen. Jon Husted.

After being voted out by Ohioans once before, Brown is hoping for a second chance, giving a recent interview on key topics including immigration.

During an interview earlier this month with Youngstown’s WFMJ, the former senator was asked what he thinks needs to change with immigration enforcement in the United States.

“I support closing the border to people so they just can’t cross the border at will. But I also say we of course should be deporting people that have committed a crime,” Brown said.

“But we’ve also seen these mass arrests and deportations that are disrupting families who are here working every day paying taxes, paying into Social Security, paying into Medicare. Those are the kinds of people that I want to see in this country who are doing the work they ought to do.”

Drew Thompson, the campaign manager for Jon Husted for Senate, framed the issue as one where Husted has to clean up Brown’s mess.

“After shocking Ohioans in 2024 by claiming he only hears about illegal immigration from the far Right, Sherrod Brown is now desperate to return to Washington and continue the same Biden-era open border policies he supported for 32 years. Jon Husted, on the other hand, is working to clean up Sherrod Brown’s mess by funding border security, supporting border agents, and standing for the rule of law,” Thompson told the The Daily Signal.

When asked during the interview why voters would give him another chance, Brown spoke to his previous time in the Senate.

“Well, they’re going to elect me because I’m speaking to workers and farmers and consumers, fighting for them every day. That’s what I did when I was in the Senate,” Brown offered.

When Brown was asked at the start of the interview why he was running again, and what would be different about this term should he be elected, the Democrat focused on going after Husted’s record.

“Ohio needs a stronger voice,” he responded.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee says Ohioans should be concerned about Brown’s record. In a statement to The Daily Signal, NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia said, “Sherrod Brown’s lies aren’t going to trick Ohioans. They know Brown has fought for over half a century alongside liberals like Kamala Harris to open our borders and protect dangerous criminal illegals from deportation.”

During his three terms as senator, Brown repeatedly opposed border security measures. On 2024 campaign ad for Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, highlighted Brown’s opposition to a border wall in 2017 and 2019. The ad also highlighted Brown’s “F” rating from NumbersUSA, a group looking to reduce immigration to the United States.

During his most recent term in the Senate, Brown also took several votes against border security, especially as it relates to the border wall. Brown in 2021 also voted against providing $800 million for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for opioid and narcotic detection at the southern border.

Although Brown’s remarks in the recent interview speak to deporting criminal illegal immigrants as a matter of something he would support, he voted against an amendment in August 2021 that was “relating to providing sufficient resources to detain and deport a higher number of illegal aliens who have been convicted of a crime.” That amendment received support from other Democrats.

Brown also was a cosponsor of the End Mass Deportations Act, which would have rescinded Trump’s executive order from his first term to prioritize deporting criminal illegals and denying funding for sanctuary cities.

In March 2024, Brown sponsored a resolution “declaring racism a public health crisis,” which included concerns with “immigration enforcement systems” as an example of “structural racism.”

The race is considered a “Toss-Up” by the Cook Political Report, which recently updated the race forecast.