The divide over immigration policies has widened along political lines and become more heated heading into the midterm elections.

Last week, the monthlong missing person search involving Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts ended horribly when Christhian Rivera, an immigrant who entered the U.S. illegally, was charged with her murder. Because this case was so seared in the national consciousness, the liberal media couldn’t ignore the story, even though it gave the president and Republicans fresh ammunition in the illegal immigration debate.

There’s little doubt that the mainstream media has been leaning left in its coverage of illegal immigration.

Earlier in the week, liberal news outlets hyped a report about a California man being detained by U.S. immigration officials while rushing his wife to the hospital for the birth of their fifth child.

This played strongly to the left’s narrative that ICE was a rogue agency that terrorized immigrant communities by using strong-arm tactics to divide families. It also gave the press a chance to attack the administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policies.

A short time later more information came out. The suspect, Joel Arrona-Lara, was brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges. The fact that he was a murder suspect was conveniently hidden or buried by the liberal press, which looked foolish and biased for running with a story without properly investigating the suspect and informing the public.

ICE agents have had targets on their backs since the Trump administration made illegal immigration a priority.

In June, Antifa, a violent, so-called anti-fascist group, tweeted out a list of more than 1,500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ identities. The originator explained that he created the database in response to ICE’s “inhumane” efforts in on the border.

While ICE has a strong ally in President Trump, liberals have been lining up in opposition. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who has been working on legislation to eliminate ICE, has called ICE Trump’s “own political police force.”

And Maria Svart, national director of the Democratic Socialists of America, said the organization is ready to “apply pressure wherever possible to lift up the narrative that ICE is horrific, has no place in our communities and needs to be abolished.”

A week ago, the president honored the men and women working for Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stating that our nation will never surrender to the forces of anarchy and chaos and crime.

“Everyone here today understands a vital truth: that America is a land of opportunity because we are a nation of laws. For America to be a strong nation, we must have strong borders,” Trump stated.

“You are the patriots and you are the heroes. You are the fighters and you are the warriors for justice.”

The president said we can’t allow our communities to be consumed by deadly poisons (illegal drugs) and violent predators.

“The poisons are flowing across our border, and we’re hitting it from every angle,” he said. “But we need new laws. We need border laws. We need immigration laws. We need them fast.”

The president’s points should be common ground to spur all sides in the immigration debate to action.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com