Ten Democrats clashed on Wednesday in the first debate of the 2020 United States presidential race with most of them cementing their status as  top-tier candidates while the underdogs used the issue of immigration to clamour for the limelight.

The biggest American political debate since the 2016 presidential campaign is taking place over two nights in Miami, climaxing on Thursday with former Vice-President Joe Biden squaring off against nine others which includes Bernie Sanders.

Wednesday’s debate was a spirited encounter between Democrats like former congressman Beto O’Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, Senator Cory Booker, former San Antonio Mayor, Julian Castro and New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio.

Despite the political climate in Washington and heavy campaigning in early voting states, millions of Americans tuned in to the 2020 race for the first time to watch the candidates discuss burning issues like healthcare, economic inequality, climate action, gun violence, Iran and immigration.

With so many people on stage, candidates enjoying their first exposure to a broad national audience had limited time to make their mark, perhaps by winning a viral moment which might advance their cause possibly keep them in the headlines.

The backdrop to the debate, the crisis on the US-Mexico border, the detention of migrant children in squalid conditions and a shocking photograph of a Salvadoran man and his baby daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande led to tense exchanges.

Mr. Castro, the only Latino in the race , who had unveiled a sweeping immigration plan earlier this year described the photograph as heartbreaking and that such incidences ‘should spur us to action’.

 O’Rourke,  Booker and  Castro  slipped into Spanish as they addressed the migrants crisis while  De Blasio, a late entrant to the race earned loud applause when he reminded citizens that  immigrants were not their enemies.

“For all the American citizens who feel you are falling behind and the American dream is not working for you, the immigrants didn’t do that to you! The big corporations did that to you,” he said. 

More than any other candidate, Ms. Warren gave a clear picture of her presidential priorities like instituting a wealth tax, breaking up big tech companies and securing the US election system.

In her closing remarks, the 70-year-old recalled growing up in Oklahoma where a government-funded community college helped her get a break.

“I am in this fight because I believe that we can make our government, we can make our economy, we can make our country work not just for those at the top. We can make them work for everyone.

“And I promise you this, I will fight for you as hard as I fight for my own family,” she said.