Abdul El-Sayed’s support for ‘open’ borders under new scrutiny after 2018 interview resurfaces

A viral clip of the 2018 interview, in which El-Sayed called on the US to “open our doors” to asylum seekers when he was running for Michigan governor, drew millions of X views after being shared by outlets like The Blaze.

While the question he was asked specified “refugees” in particular, El-Sayed’s complete answer suggested that he would welcome immigrants of any kind seeking economic opportunity.

“They are coming here because they believe in an America where they too can have a better life,” El-Sayed said, as reported by Bridge Michigan. “And we, as a country, I believe owe it to the world to open our doors and we’re better because of it, right?”

El-Sayed was ahead of the curve in calling for defund-the-police style initiatives that would later come into fashion during 2020’s George Floyd riots, while his proposals also seemed to foretell the Biden administration’s policy of border non-enforcement.

“Under my leadership our state will not expend a dime of state taxpayer resources enforcing federal immigration policy that at best, is incoherent and at worst is heartless,” he said in the 2018 interview.

“We will not participate with them through our state police. We will not participate with them through the State Department of Corrections because I do not believe that they are doing what is in the best interest of our state,” he continued. “Because every time we watch these deportations you are talking about a family that has been torn apart and you are talking about a portion of our economy that has been shipped out and I am not willing to be a part of that.”

In the same interview, he pushed for socialist-favored policies like free daycare and universal (government-subsidized) health care. He also criticized his fellow Democrats for failing to be bold enough in pushing the progressive agenda.

“[U]nder my leadership the Democratic Party will certainly take a turn. … [W]e will be a lot more activist on the ground,” he said.

The news about El-Sayed’s past policy statements came as he sought to dance around many of the criticisms of his positions in a debate Thursday with his Republican counterpart, former US Rep. Mike Rogers.

Rogers went for the jugular, accusing El-Sayed of lying not only about his policies, but about his career as a “physician” and even his citizenship status.

“Listen to this guy and what he's trying to sell here today,” Rogers said. “You're going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I've ever seen.”

Rogers also noted El-Sayed’s reluctance to condemn terrorist groups.

“He gets money from people who support, openly, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda,” Rogers said.

Meanwhile, a recent report from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, revealed that there had been a drastic drop in both legal and illegal immigration since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025.