While Democrats have long sought to dismiss the border situation as a boogeyman of the GOP's making, recent actions suggest they are growing anxious about the political liability the surge of illegal immigrants presents, particularly as polls show the issue is at the top of mind for voters.
According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is ramping up messaging efforts on border security and has communicated to colleagues that he plans to resurrect the bipartisan Senate border security deal next week for a floor vote.
Sources told the outlet that Schumer has also talked about breaking up the bill into several pieces for vulnerable Democrats to introduce separately.
Additionally, Senate Democrats in tight races are pressuring the Biden administration to take action on the millions of migrants that have flooded the country, even if Congress doesn't.
At a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the chamber's most vulnerable incumbent Democrat, confronted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over the untenable situation at the southern border.
"Look, I've repeatedly called upon Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas and President [Joe] Biden and Congress to step up and fix what's going on at the southern border," he told Austin, according to The Hill. "It's not sustainable at all and it's unacceptable."
Tester also became the first Senate Democrat to co-sponsor the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal officials to detain migrants who commit certain crimes until they are deported.
Senate Democrats are also reportedly calling on Biden to take executive action on the border.
"It's definitely going to be an important issue and Democrats in swing states — our incumbents from Jacky Rosen [Nevada] to Jon Tester — are going to need to talk about their vote for the bipartisan border security bill," a Democrat strategist told The Hill. "They're going to be talking about the work they've done to support law enforcement."
The strategist described Biden's recent poll numbers in battleground states as a "disaster."
Grocery and gas prices, as well as Biden's advanced age, are issues that are impacting voters' views of the president and this year's race for the White House, the strategist said. Another major issue for Democrats in swing states who need to outperform the president is border security.
"Democrats realize on the border and immigration, you need to talk about that — you can't just not talk about that," the strategist added.
Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in five of six battleground states surveyed, according to a new poll of more than 4,000 registered voters from The New York Times/Siena College. The poll found the president behind the presumptive GOP nominee in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, which doesn't bode well for Senate Democrats running in all of those states except Georgia, which does not have a Senate race this year.
One Republican senator who spoke with The Hill on condition of anonymity said Democrat colleagues are feeling the pressure on the border issue and pointed to polling in swing states.
"The polling numbers in battleground states … [show] the immigration issue isn't just about immigration, it's also about crime and the economy," the GOP senator said. "Those things get all wrapped up into it. Independent voters are putting their finger on that and saying, See that? Border is open and my wages aren't going up and I'm not safe and my kids aren't safe."
"Democrats can read polls," the senator added. "I'm sure they're saying something to Schumer … because it's hurting Biden."