I'll be the contrarian and say that immigration is a losing issue for the resistance movement at this time. In fact, I would say that it helps Trump and his authoritarian regime. Three reasons:
One, illegal immigration was one of biggest reasons why people voted for Trump. People are angry about the perception of uncontrolled borders. It …
I'll be the contrarian and say that immigration is a losing issue for the resistance movement at this time. In fact, I would say that it helps Trump and his authoritarian regime. Three reasons:
One, illegal immigration was one of biggest reasons why people voted for Trump. People are angry about the perception of uncontrolled borders. It doesn't matter if the anger is driven by racism, it doesn't matter if the border is an issue of perception or reality, it doesn't matter if immigrants actually improve the economy. People would rather vote for a fascist to fix the problem, than have an uncontrolled border.
Two, Democrats were punished in the last election by the same groups of people who took advantage of the open borders. The majority of Hispanic men voted for Trump. The majority of Cuban Americans voted for Trump. The majority of Venezuelan Americans voted for Trump. I would be far more willing to expend political energy if they had listened to the warnings from Democrats. They are now getting what they voted for.
Three, allow me to make a cold political calculation: Why should Democrats and the resistance help a group of immigrants, who will turn around and vote against Democrats, in favor of authoritarianism and fascism, destroying the liberal democracy that has been the foundation of the United States for 250 years? Yes, I understand our moral and ethical obligations, but Democrats are being asked to support our own political destruction, never mind the impact on our country.
There are far greater disasters on the horizon than immigration. For example, the dissolution of NATO, the trade wars against Canada and Mexico, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the threat to Taiwan from China, the destruction of the constitutional rule of law, the war against entire legal profession, just to name a few things. Immigration sits much lower on that list of disasters.
Yes, the problem of “unchecked immigration” and immigrants somehow ruining our country are fake problems ginned up the MAGAts and as such should be nearer the bottom of the Dems agenda. *But* the concerns about illegally rounding up and deporting people, terrorizing people at the border and just ignoring the Constitution are hugely concerning and should be at the top of EVERYBODY’S list.
I agree, but the nuance will go completely over the heads of most Americans (i.e. violations of the 1st amendment protection of the freedom of speech, and the 5th and 14th amendments which provide due process). For most Americans, this will be yet another example of "Democrats are for They/Them".
The American people voted to have less immigration, legal or illegal. That's their right. Even the immigrant communities support restrictions. There is little to be gained by fighting this battle.
You are throwing around speculative numbers which aren't backed by any scientific survey. And I'm not sure I understand the purpose of the 2 subgroups of Trump supporters that you have identified.
Here is a real set of numbers: People trusted Trump to handle immigration over Harris by 53% to 44% (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election#Issue_questions). And people knew exactly who Trump was, what his immigration policies were, what he thought of immigrants from "shit-hole" countries, and how he dehumanized Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
We should support Mahmoud Khalil as a free speech issue, not as an immigration issue. We should protest the disappearance and abuse of prisoners shipped off to El Salvador as a due process and cruelty issue, not as an immigration issue.
Elections have consequences. The American people have spoken, and they want far less immigration. Even immigrants want less immigration. We have far more important things to worry about and fight for, rather than getting sucked into the vortex of immigrant activists and their demonstrations.
I'll be the contrarian and say that immigration is a losing issue for the resistance movement at this time. In fact, I would say that it helps Trump and his authoritarian regime. Three reasons:
One, illegal immigration was one of biggest reasons why people voted for Trump. People are angry about the perception of uncontrolled borders. It doesn't matter if the anger is driven by racism, it doesn't matter if the border is an issue of perception or reality, it doesn't matter if immigrants actually improve the economy. People would rather vote for a fascist to fix the problem, than have an uncontrolled border.
Two, Democrats were punished in the last election by the same groups of people who took advantage of the open borders. The majority of Hispanic men voted for Trump. The majority of Cuban Americans voted for Trump. The majority of Venezuelan Americans voted for Trump. I would be far more willing to expend political energy if they had listened to the warnings from Democrats. They are now getting what they voted for.
Three, allow me to make a cold political calculation: Why should Democrats and the resistance help a group of immigrants, who will turn around and vote against Democrats, in favor of authoritarianism and fascism, destroying the liberal democracy that has been the foundation of the United States for 250 years? Yes, I understand our moral and ethical obligations, but Democrats are being asked to support our own political destruction, never mind the impact on our country.
There are far greater disasters on the horizon than immigration. For example, the dissolution of NATO, the trade wars against Canada and Mexico, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the threat to Taiwan from China, the destruction of the constitutional rule of law, the war against entire legal profession, just to name a few things. Immigration sits much lower on that list of disasters.
Yes, the problem of “unchecked immigration” and immigrants somehow ruining our country are fake problems ginned up the MAGAts and as such should be nearer the bottom of the Dems agenda. *But* the concerns about illegally rounding up and deporting people, terrorizing people at the border and just ignoring the Constitution are hugely concerning and should be at the top of EVERYBODY’S list.
I agree, but the nuance will go completely over the heads of most Americans (i.e. violations of the 1st amendment protection of the freedom of speech, and the 5th and 14th amendments which provide due process). For most Americans, this will be yet another example of "Democrats are for They/Them".
The American people voted to have less immigration, legal or illegal. That's their right. Even the immigrant communities support restrictions. There is little to be gained by fighting this battle.
You are throwing around speculative numbers which aren't backed by any scientific survey. And I'm not sure I understand the purpose of the 2 subgroups of Trump supporters that you have identified.
Here is a real set of numbers: People trusted Trump to handle immigration over Harris by 53% to 44% (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election#Issue_questions). And people knew exactly who Trump was, what his immigration policies were, what he thought of immigrants from "shit-hole" countries, and how he dehumanized Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
We should support Mahmoud Khalil as a free speech issue, not as an immigration issue. We should protest the disappearance and abuse of prisoners shipped off to El Salvador as a due process and cruelty issue, not as an immigration issue.
Elections have consequences. The American people have spoken, and they want far less immigration. Even immigrants want less immigration. We have far more important things to worry about and fight for, rather than getting sucked into the vortex of immigrant activists and their demonstrations.