Former President Donald Trump said Monday that his support among voters of color is surging ahead of the election as Vice President Kamala Harris struggles to shore up her support, especially among men.

Mr. Trump attributed his support to the electorate’s frustration with the relaxed approach the Biden-Harris administration has taken to the U.S.-Mexico border. He told the Pennsylvania audience that the influx of migrants has made it harder for people of color to land jobs.

“Our poll numbers have gone through the roof with Black and Hispanic [voters] — I like that,” Mr. Trump said at a town hall event in the Philadelphia suburb of Oaks, moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

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Mr. Trump said Ms. Harris’ approach to crime is also counterintuitive in that she wants to pass new restrictions on gun control while allowing criminal migrants to run wild.

“These radical left lunatics, they want everybody to come into our country — many of those people are criminals — and then they also want to take your guns away simultaneously,” Mr. Trump said.

Ms. Harris also was on the ground in Pennsylvania. She held a rally in Erie, the northwest city that has been a bellwether for the state in recent elections.

In an effort to court Black men, Ms. Harris touted her “opportunity agenda” that called for legalizing recreational marijuana and providing “fully forgivable” startup loans.

Ms. Harris must run up her margin of victory in Philadelphia, which has a large Black population, to offset what are expected to be Mr. Trump’s high levels of support in the state’s rural areas.

The Trump campaign has been highlighting Ms. Harris’ past support for taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners and immigrants without documentation as a way to drive a wedge between Democrats and men of color.

The Trump town hall Monday followed a series of polls that reinforced the notion that Mr. Trump has blunted Ms. Harris’ momentum during the summer.

The event was briefly interrupted by a pair of health scares in the audience, which led Mr. Trump to play the Catholic hymn “Ave Maria.”

In his answers, Mr. Trump promised to cut regulations for homebuilders, reduce taxes, and increase domestic oil and gas production to drive down costs for Americans.

He also pledged to form a commission on behalf of Gold Star families to investigate the deaths of loved ones who died in combat.

Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris are still deadlocked in Pennsylvania, though the Trump team sees that as a good omen because of the jump in Republican registration in Pennsylvania and other battleground states. His campaign is betting that the surveys do not reflect the full breadth of Mr. Trump’s support — much like Pennsylvania polling in 2016 and 2020.

At the same time, Ms. Harris has been bankrolling cash. Her camp is hoping abortion, the gender gap, the party’s ground game, and Trump fatigue will help her win.

Mr. Trump is set to campaign on Tuesday in Atlanta. Ms. Harris plans to be in Detroit.