Democrats Going Full Trump on Immigration

Democrats just caving to Trumpism on immigration (at the same time that he uses the openly Nazi language Miller and Bannon are feeding him; no of course he hasn’t read Mein Kampf, with that Penn education he’s never read a book in his life, but he loves a good line from those who have) is just empowering Trump to do whatever he wants to immigrants if (and increasingly likely, when) he wins the presidency next year. Eric Garcia has a good piece on what this all means:

None of that should be surprising. What is more surprising is that the Senate is now negotiating how to significantly curtail immigration into the United States in exchange for aid to Ukraine. But Mr Trump’s words add a new colour to the negotiations because it is entirely possible that if an agreement is reached, and he wins the election, Mr Trump could wield that new authority to implement a draconian regime for people who come to the United States.

Negotiations with the bipartisan coterie on Capitol Hill have included, as friend of Inside Washington Myah Ward at Politico has reported, the potential use of “nationwide expedited removal,” which would allow the government to deport anyone in the country who does not have a legal basis for doing so.

While this may register to some as Republican pablum about “the border” — even though this has little to do with the US-Mexico border and may lead to removals from within the country — Mr Trump’s calls to be a dictator on “day one” permeate these discussions. Passing such legislation would give him tremendous latitude.

Unsurprisingly, the most MAGA voices in the Senate are unfazed.

“I’m mad he wasn’t tougher than that because you’re seeing what’s happening at the border? We’re being overrun,” Sen Tommy Tuberville of Alabama told me.

…

During Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s press conference, I asked why Democrats were negotiating curtailing immigration with a party led by Mr Trump.

“What Donald Trump said and did was despicable, but we do have a problem at the border and Democrats know we have to solve that problem, but in keeping with our principles,” he said.

Sen Bob Menendez of New Jersey, an ardent supporter of immigration reform who has criticised the negotiations, was more blunt, telling me Mr Trump was “taking his cues from Hitler.” But Mr Menendez has mostly been neutered in the Senate ever since his indictment, which triggered many Democrats to call for his resignation.

Other Democrats vocally criticised Mr Trump’s words while offering mealy-mouthed responses about giving a president this much authority to deport people.

“Also it just outrageous and he’s doing it for political gain,” Sen Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, the first and only Latina senator, told The Independent, noting how Mr Trump’s own family includes immigrants. But when asked about negotiating on immigration, she dodged.

“I think it is important that we have Ukraine funding, Israel funding all of the above, and it needs to happen,” she told me.

First of all, no it doesn’t. Sorry Ukraine, America giving up its basic values to fund your war with Russia is not worth it. I support funding the Ukraine war, but not at this cost. Second, Democrats are just caving on this like a house of cards. It’s pathetic and sad to watch. It’s also likely to send the U.S. into a spiral of committing crimes against humanity.

However, given the racism at the core of American life, I don’t doubt that the politically expedient thing to do is to place immigrants in concentration camps. Most Americans just wouldn’t care.

But note that we’ve moved from outrage to putting babies in cages to it being bipartisan policy.