I wrote earlier this week about how the government-contrived “crisis” of “ripping children away” from parents entering the country illegally was more than likely being used as political cover, giving Trump and the GOP more time to advance their goals of making DACA permanent and creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. As I expected, voices from both sides of the political divide accused me of spreading hyperbolic nonsense.
Obviously, the most adamant voices of those who disagreed with me came from the Always Trump camp. “Look!” they said, “Trump’s only enforcing the law. He has no choice”—a claim Trump himself made early during the so-called crisis. Yet, after his wife and a host of Republicans worried about their re-elections came out against his “zero tolerance” policy, Trump reversed his policy, played the Obama card, and issued a questionably legal executive order ending family separations.
Surprisingly Unsurprisingly, so-called Trump conservatives defended the zero tolerance policy, blaming Congress for inaction with this issue while giving Trump a pass, despite Republicans having complete control in Washington for the past year and a half.
In a display of political irony, defenders of Trump and the GOP prove my point. Since the GOP has had the opportunity to fix this and haven’t, they are either inept or they don’t want it fixed—probably both.
Trump’s immigration executive order was Obama-esque for another reason. It restored Obama’s “catch-and-release” approach to immigration where illegals with children aren’t prosecuted and under the law are released after twenty days.
How does this lead to saving DACA and creating a pathway to citizenship? Well, using the Rahm Emmanuel playbook, where you never let a crisis go to waste, House Republicans are using the current border crisis as evidence that DACA and other immigration issues must be fixed.
In a classic election-season show vote yesterday, the House voted against a “conservative” immigration measure commonly known as the Goodlatte bill. While woefully inadequate, the Goodlatte measure carried a conservative label, so House GOP leaders made little effort to pass it.
With Goodlatte out of the way, the bill Trump and the GOP really want passed is on the clock. Scheduled to take place some time next week, a compromise bill supported by moderates that addresses family separations, “fixes” DACA, and—despite GOP claims to the contrary—creates a pathway to citizenship will be voted on. While its chance of passing is unknown, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers—who faces the threat of losing her re-election—thinks this Trump-supported measure is the one most likely to become law.
Trump and the GOP want everything the Democrats want when it comes to illegal immigration. They just have to tell more lies to get it.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative. His politically incorrect and always “right” columns are also featured on NOQReport.com, RedState.com and TheResurgent.com.
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