MIAMI — The ad sounds like something out of the GOP 2024 playbook, trumpeting a senator's work with Republicans to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S., getting tough on Chinese interests helping smugglers, and noting how he "wrote a bill signed by Donald Trump to increase funding for Border Patrol."
It's actually a commercial for Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat facing a tough reelection fight that will help decide control of the Senate.
"Ohioans trust Sherrod Brown to keep us safe," says the narrator of the ad, sponsored by the Democrat-aligned Duty and Country PAC. His campaign declined to comment.
The message is one more indication of the political and security challenges the U.S.-Mexico border presented for President Joe Biden. Some Democrats across the country are distancing themselves from the White House, and polls indicate widespread frustration with Biden's handling of immigration and the border, creating a major liability for the president's bid for reelection.
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The Biden administration this past week took actions seen by many as moving to the right on immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security waived environmental and other reviews to construct new portions of a border wall in South Texas after Biden pledged during the 2020 campaign that he would build "not another foot" of wall. And U.S. officials said they would resume deportations to Venezuela not long after the administration increased protected status for thousands of people from the country.
A section of border wall stands July 14, 2021, near La Grulla, Texas.
Both moves inflamed conservatives and liberals alike. Many Republicans accused Biden of being too late to adopt former President Donald Trump's ideas on a border wall, while liberals who oppose additional border restrictions accused the White House of betraying campaign pledges.
"My frustration has been that we are not addressing immigration in a holistic way as a country. We are depending on the president alone," said Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas, a Democrat who represents the border city of El Paso and is a national co-chair of the Biden reelection campaign. "We are treating people from different nationalities in a different way. And the pathways that have been created are being challenged in court consistently."
Biden said his administration moved forward with the border wall because it was required by Congress during the Trump administration, even though he considers it ineffective. His reelection campaign pointed to Trump's record at the border, including his administration's practice of separating immigrant families as a deterrence measure and the temporary detention of children in warehouses in chain-link cells.
"MAGA Republicans are running on the legacy of Donald Trump's playbook of family separation, caging kids, and shouting 'border!' without any serious solutions," said Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Biden's reelection campaign, referring to supporters of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement.
Border crossings hit two-decade highs under Trump but fell during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with immigration authorities expelling most border crossers using a public health rule known as Title 42.
Upon taking office, Biden paused border wall construction and canceled the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" program, but kept expelling many people under Title 42 until this past May.
Still, border crossings are skyrocketing, which some observers blame on Biden's administration for creating the perception that the border is open. The White House counters that migration surged across the Western Hemisphere due to regional challenges out of the administration's control.
Migrants who entered the U.S. by crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico are lined up Sept. 23 in Eagle Pass, Texas, for processing by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Conservative media outlets often spotlight border crossings and blame Biden for creating what they say is a crisis. Biden also was criticized by many in his own party, including Democratic mayors and governors who want more help caring for newly arriving migrants.
Republican-led border states started busing thousands of immigrants to Democratic-led cities across the country, creating in many places a shortage of space that's led to makeshift shelters and camps.
In Chicago, O'Hare International Airport is housing hundreds of migrants from babies to the elderly at a shuttle bus center. They sleep on cardboard pads on the floor and share airport bathrooms.
New York Mayor Eric Adams went to Mexico to implore would-be migrants not to come. He accused the Biden administration of not providing enough money or resources for the city to process migrants, telling reporters this summer, "The president and the White House have failed New York City on this issue."
Polling suggests Americans across the political spectrum — even some people sympathetic to immigration — are concerned.
A Marquette Law School poll of registered voters conducted in late September gave Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, a 24-point advantage over Biden on handling immigration and border security issues — 52% to 28%.
Escobar said she is concerned that immigration could hurt the president's reelection efforts.
"There is going to be a tendency to blame the White House when in fact this has been a failure on Congress," she said. The last major immigration reform approved by Congress was in 1990.
Photos: Migrants rush across US border in final hours before pandemic rule expires
A Texas National Guardsman stands along a stretch of razor wire as migrants try to cross into the U.S., on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Members of the Texas National Guard prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. The Title 42 policy, a federal rule that has allowed the government to strictly regulate border entries, is set to expire this week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants pass through razor wire on the bank of the Rio Grande river where Texas National Guards verbally tell them not to cross, as migrants enter the U.S. to turn themselves into immigration authorities, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants stand on the bank of the Rio Grande river as Texas National Guards block them from behind razor wire, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuelan migrants take a break during their walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama, in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Migrants walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Texas National Guard soldiers tie rows of barbed-wire to be installed near a gate in the border fence in El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A man from Colombia uses metallic fabric to keep his feet warm as he waits to apply for asylum after crossing the border from Mexico on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, marking a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A migrant from Colombia, center, gives a blanket to a father and son, also from Colombia, as the group waits to apply for asylum after crossing the border Wednesday, May 10, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. The group have been camping just across the border for days, waiting to apply for asylum in the United States. As members of the group get to the front of the line to be escorted into vans, they hand off all warm clothing to those who might still have to camp overnight. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S., seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants wait for U.S. authorities, between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Border Patrol and Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released Wednesday, as U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as a key limit on immigration is set to expire.(AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Asylum-seekers wait between the double fence on U.S. soil along the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, May 8, 2023, in San Diego. The migrants wait between the fences to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Asylum-seekers wait between the double fence on U.S. soil along the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, May 8, 2023, in San Diego. The migrants wait between the fences to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Members of the Texas National Guard prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. The Title 42 policy, a federal rule that has allowed the government to strictly regulate border entries, is set to expire this week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - Migrants that were trying to evade U.S. Border Patrol agents, wait to be processed in Granjeno, Texas, early Thursday, May 4, 2023. A recent surge of migrants in the Brownsville area of the U.S.-Mexico border is highlighting immigration challenges as the U.S. prepares for the end of a policy linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants. (AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas, File)
Migrants from El Salvador cross the Rio Grande river to the U.S. side, from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Texas National Guards stand guard on the bank of the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A couple of migrants watch as the Texas National Guard add more rows of barbed-wire around a gate in the border fence into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants sit under a sign marking the Panama-Colombia border during their trek across the Darien Gap, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
A Venezuelan migrant buys an energy drink at a stall set up along the route of the Darien Gap, from Colombia into Panama, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Migrants gather to start the walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., at the trailhead camp in Acandi, Colombia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Migrants arrive at a gate in the border fence after crossing from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants wait for U.S. authorities, between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Wheelchair-bound Colombian migrant Mireya Payares is helped by another migrant to cross the Rio Grande river from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Payares is part of a family group of nine Colombian migrants who are traveling together from Bucaramanga, Colombia, since February 19, 2023, to reach the United States. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk up the bank on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande river, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A migrant crosses the Rio Grande river with a baby in a suitcase, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S. on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released on May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuelan migrant Luis Parra, third right, joins other migrants crossing the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Parra and his niece Leidy Arriza arrived at the border after staying overnight in the Mexican city of Monterrey. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants use plastic bottles as floatation devices to cross the Rio Bravo river into the United States from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S. on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released on May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Texas National Guardsmen stand along a stretch of razor wire as a migrant woman carrying a child tries to cross into the U.S, on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk toward immigration authorities to turn themselves in as they make their way past Texas National Guardsmen, on the bank of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande to the U.S. side, from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
An official interviews a migrant who was deported from the United States upon his arrival on a chartered plane, at the airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Colombian migration authority said 209 Colombians were flown on a charted flight from the U.S.- Mexico border. (AP Photo/John Vizcaino)
Yised Marulanda cries after arriving with other Colombia migrants deported from the United States, at the airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Colombian migration authority said 209 Colombians were flown on a charted flight from the U.S.- Mexico border. (AP Photo/John Vizcaino)
A migrant gestures to Texas National Guards standing behind razor wire on the bank of the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A young migrant holding swimming inner tubes stands on the Mexican-side of the Rio Grande river, from where migrants swim across to the U.S. side, in Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire May 11. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuelan migrants take a break during their walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama, in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pandemic-related U.S. asylum restrictions, known as Title 42, are to expire Thursday, May 11. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Texas National Guardsmen reinforce a stretch of razor wire as migrants try to cross into the U.S., on the banks of the Rio Grande, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A young migrant swims across the Rio Grande river to the U.S. from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through , according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo on an inflatable mattress into the United States from Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk through a barbed-wire barrier into the United States after crossing the Rio Bravo from Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants cross a barbed-wire barrier into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants line-up between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants camp at a makeshift shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The U.S. is preparing for the Thursday, May 11th end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants seeking asylum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Moto taxis transport migrants to Las Tecas camp from where they will start walking across the Darien gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the US, in Acandi, Colombia, Monday, May 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Venezuelan migrant Rowil Espinoza, 34, carries his son Calel on the bank of the Rio Grande river, planning to cross to the U.S., from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Espinoza said he is traveling with his wife and three children. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Texas state police finish placing barbed-wire as migrants walk up the bank of the Rio Grande river, seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The U.S on May 11 will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, according to a new rule released May 10. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
