TRUMP MADE THEM DO IT

TRUMP MADE THEM DO IT

BY JOHN HINDERAKER IN DEMOCRATS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

During a television appearance last night, I was asked why the Biden administration pursues an open border policy that has had catastrophic consequences and is deeply unpopular with voters. It is a good question. I agreed with the host that liberals think they are importing a lot of future Democrats. I also think some Democrats perceive that mass illegal immigration dramatically increases the demand for social services, most of which are provided by Democrats. Still, I am not sure how persuasive those explanations are.

The New York Times understands its fellow Democrats better than I do, so yesterday’s “The Morning” email likely provides a clue–in a word, Trump made them do it:

Since Donald Trump first ran for president in 2016, the Democratic Party has changed its own approach to immigration. Not long ago, leading Democrats supported immigration enforcement measures like tough border security and deportations. Today, much of the party is uncomfortable doing so.
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Before Trump’s presidency, Democrats tended to combine passionate support for the rights of immigrants already in this country with strong support for border security.

Bernie Sanders was an example. He favored pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and opposed long detentions for immigrants arrested at the border. At the same time, Sanders worried about the effects of immigration on workers’ wages.
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Barack Obama also embodied this nuanced combination.

The idea that anything Obama did was “nuanced” is a fiction, but that is how liberals like to think of him. Here comes the Times’s explanation of the Democrats’ shift:

It’s hard to imagine a leading Democrat making a similar statement today. Trump’s harsh anti-immigration stance — including lies, racist scapegoating and family separations — sent many Democrats scurrying in the other direction. Much of the party left behind its old approach.

Got that? Trump’s “lies, racist scapegoating and family separations” caused the Democrats to adopt substantively disastrous and politically suicidal policies. You can always count on the Times for a balanced assessment! But I think the Times is correct that sheer Trump derangement drives Democratic attitudes toward illegal immigration.

Today, liberals describe border-security measures that the Democratic Party once would have favored as severe, cruel or “Trump-era.”

I like this delicate formulation:

To put it another way, many Democratic politicians favor higher levels of immigration than federal law allows.

They are scofflaws, in other words, and Joe Biden violates the Constitution and his oath of office on a daily basis.

The Times concludes by noting that Republicans are bargaining for more border enforcement as the price of supporting ongoing aid to Ukraine. But, the paper says, “obstacles remain.” Including the fact that “some Republicans wonder if they would be better off if the deal collapsed and their party could instead run in 2024 against Democrats’ immigration record.” Well, yes. The GOP isn’t called the Stupid Party for nothing, but I think the Democrats’ illegal immigration catastrophe will be front and center in November, even if Republicans can get a little interim relief now.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/01/trump-made-them-do-it.php