If You Don't Think Illegal Immigrants Are Voting For President, Think Again
When President Trump threatened to release throngs of illegal immigrant detainees into America’s sanctuary cities last week, the media and Democrats went bonkers. While the scheme may not pass legal muster, it was “pure genius” as a political ploy.
The mere mention of this possibility caused award-winning artist and progressive activist Cher to take to Twitter and claim that if her hometown of Los Angeles, can’t take care of its roughly 50,000-person homeless population, “How Can it Take Care Of More?”
Newsflash, Cher is absolutely right. Unchecked illegal immigration hurts all Americans, especially working- and lower-class Americans, regardless of ethnicity.
Yet as Congressional Democrats search for Russian agents under every rock and in every crevice on Capitol Hill, they are purposely ignoring the very real crisis and national emergency unfolding in front of their eyes.
The sheer number of illegal immigrants bum-rushing the country’s southwest border speaks for itself. In March of 2019, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended or deemed inadmissible more than 103,000 aliens, the most in a single month since 2007. For FY 2019, the U.S. Border Patrol has already apprehended more than 361,000 aliens or more than 2,000 a day at the nation’s southern border. With six months left in FY 2019, that number could conceivably top 1,000,000. As a point of reference, in FY 2018 the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended just under 400,000 individuals in total at the southern border.
While the volume of illegal immigrant crossings is staggering, that is only a small part of the problem. The primary issue is the “make up of the flow.” An overwhelming majority of the illegal immigrants are coming from Central America, chiefly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Many are traveling as family units (real or alleged) or as unaccompanied alien children, and an ever increasing percentage are claiming asylum, making it nearly impossible to return them in a timely manner, if at all.
The reason is simple: America’s immigration laws are outdated and ill-equipped to handle the present situation. As crafted currently, the laws are designed to repel single men from Mexico not those traveling as family units or unaccompanied children from Central America or those looking to game the asylum system. Hence, many of these migrants cannot be detained by authorities for any significant period of time and are thus released into the interior of the U.S. in a vast majority of the cases, never to be heard from again. Yes, our current immigration laws incentivize foreign nationals to come here illegally, because chances are they will get to stay indefinitely.
So when President Trump says “[w]e have the worst [immigration] laws of any country in the world. … You have to fix the asylum system, it’s ridiculous” – he is beyond right. Even TheWeek.com’s senior correspondent Damon Linker agrees.
Now Democrats will tell you the solution to the current border crisis is “comprehensive immigration reform,” but that is not only a dishonest talking point designed to accomplish nothing, it is a logical farce.
Emergency Declaration Looms Over 2020 Election
President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to build the wall at the southern border will be a powerful weapon in his arsenal as he seeks a second term, regardless of whether he is spurned by the courts or Congress, strategists say.
“As of right now, Trump is sort of running on three issues, one of which is the capitalism vs. socialism debate, late-term abortion, and then it’s border security,” Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist, told the Washington Examiner. “I think the national emergency sends the message ‘I am doing everything I can, I am not walking away from this issue no matter what, and you, the voters, need to help me complete it.’”
Trump announced in the Rose Garden last month he would be declaring a national emergency, which allows him to skirt Congress and redirect federal dollars for construction of the border wall.
The president had teased an emergency declaration initially during the 35-day partial government shutdown but stopped short of declaring one and instead urged Congress to reach an agreement on a border deal.
Lawmakers ultimately agreed to a spending bill that allocated $1.375 billion for Trump’s border wall. Rather than shut down federal agencies for a second time, the president opted to sign the legislation and then take unilateral action, including reallocating $3.6 billion from military construction funds under his emergency declaration.
Trump’s action was swiftly challenged in federal courts in the District of Columbia and California, and the president himself acknowledges that, if a case lands before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, he will likely face defeat. However, the president is optimistic that the Supreme Court would rule in his favor.
A protracted legal battle could be a boon for Trump, O’Connell said, as it keeps the issue of border security in the news in the lead-up to the 2020 election.
“The litigation allows him to simplify it — are you for border security or against border security?” he said. “What he’s trying to show is how much Democrats and some Republicans, the lengths they will go to try to stop him from doing what he sees as his constitutional duty, which is protecting the safety and security of the U.S. and its citizens.”
Democrats: The Party Of Illegal Immigration
So how is one to interpret the recent statements and actions of these prominent Democrats? The Democrats can talk until they are blue in the face about their support for stronger border security on the nation’s southern border, but when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration, not only do they have zero interest in getting it under control, they are in fact promoting and incentivizing people to come to the U.S. illegally.
The position of today’s Democratic Party on illegal immigration is a radical departure from its stance just a few years ago. In 2009, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that “illegal immigration is wrong.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi took a similar position on illegal immigrants in 2008 by stating that “we certainly do not want any more coming in.” And there is former President Obama, who in his 2013 State of the Union address vowed to send illegal immigrants “to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally.”
So what explains Democrats’ startling 180 on illegal immigration?
The lazy, short-term answer is that Donald Trump sits at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and a central promise of his 2016 campaign was building the wall. Yes, it is no secret that Democrats want to make him a one-term president by driving a wedge between Trump and his base on a key issue. They will stop at nothing to achieve this goal.
But there is a more sinister long-term answer for the Democrats’ whole-hearted embrace of illegal immigration. A 2018 Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund memo sheds light on this. The memo, co-authored by former Hillary Clinton communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, argues that the Democratic Party needs to protect illegal immigrants brought here at a young age as a result of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program because they are “a critical component of the Democratic Party’s future electoral success.”
This is an astonishing statement. It would seem that — as the Washington Times put it — “[w]ith declining support from white and older Americans, the Democrats have concluded that their future lies in importing a new electorate from south of the border.”
So it is full speed ahead on illegal immigration for the Democrats, and they don’t want Republicans gumming up the works even if their name is not Donald Trump. They will claim their position is rooted in compassion and in upholding American values when in fact it is primarily about naked politics and importing a new set of voters, as their ideas become increasingly too far-fetched for the citizens who currently reside legally within America’s borders.
Trump Signals Wall Or Nothing Approach To Shutdown Negotiations
President Donald Trump probably won't be satisfied with any deal Capitol Hill negotiators come up with he admitted Thursday, even in the long-shot event lawmakers agree on a solution to defuse the immigration standoff that shut down the government.
Trump said he will likely go ahead and use his executive power to build his border wall anyway, in comments that could badly undercut compromise talks between lawmakers.
Trump called the consultations between Democrats and Republicans from the House and the Senate "a waste of time," in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday night.
"I've set the table. I've set the stage for doing what I'm going to do," Trump said, without specifically confirming that he plans to declare a national emergency and reprogram money already offered by Congress for other purposes.
Such a step, or some other executive action, would set off a constitutional showdown and a certain legal challenge over whether the President would be claiming power he does not have to usurp Congress's prerogative to appropriate funds.
Trump's warning came amid few signs of progress from the Capitol Hill talks and after he lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of "playing games" because of her refusal to fund a wall he always said Mexico would pay for.
"It's not an issue for him in 2020 so long as the base of the Republican Party believes he's committed to border security," said Ford O'Connell, a Republican political strategist.
"You have to understand on this issue, regardless of how hyper-partisan and far apart the parties are, the bottom line is that they believe he is the last best hope to get illegal immigration under control," said O'Connell, who is also an adjunct professor at the George Washington Graduate School of Political Management.
This equation is the reason that the best political solution for the President may be to go ahead with a declaration of national emergency or some other executive action to reposition government money to build the wall.
"The national emergency solves a problem with respect to his base all being in lock step," said O'Connell.
Despite Border Wall Funding Setback, Trump Fans Still Support Him
The no-wall deal that ended the government shutdown was a bitter pill for voters who sent President Trump to the White House, but they say they’re still backing him as the border security fight with Democrats enters Round Two.
Some conservative pundits blasted the president for “caving” to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but voters contacted by The Washington Times said they aren’t holding the setback against Mr. Trump.
“I haven’t lost any confidence in him or faith in him,” said Brian McKenna, 73, a retired police officer in Stuart, Florida. “I’m dumbfounded that people in this country don’t see the problem down at the border. The whole issue is about somebody breaking the law and the Democrats defending it.”
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said Mr. Trump’s support will remain intact as long as he keeps fighting for a border wall, whether in negotiations with Congress or in a court battle over a national emergency declaration.
“He might be taking a short-term hit with his base but really you have to withhold judgment until Feb. 15,” he said. “As long as Trump is seen as committed to border security and physical barriers at the southern border, it is not going to hurt him in the grand scheme of things.”
The deal, while chalked up as a win for Mrs. Pelosi, puts the burden on Democrats offer a border security plan.
“Democrats say over-and-over they care about border security at the U.S. southern border. Now we are going to find out just how serious they are,” Mr. O’Connell said. “Trump is making a good faith offer and trying to govern through the legislative process, and if Congress doesn’t pick up the ball, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him declare a national emergency.”
Read more from S.A. Miller and Dave Boyer at The Washington Times
Democrats Cheer After Trump Agrees To Deal Ending Government Shutdown
Democrats are claiming victory after President Trump announced Friday he’s agreed to a deal to reopen the government for three weeks without any funding for his border wall — though he vowed he will ultimately get it.
Trump signed a bill Friday night that will allow federal workers to receive back pay and reopen the government until Feb. 15, while a bipartisan conference committee hashes out a deal on border security.
The announcement came 35 days into the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, as 800,000 federal workers, who were furloughed or forced to work without pay, were set to miss a second paycheck and airport delays mounted due to a lack of air traffic controllers.
Those employees will receive their back pay “very quickly, or as soon as possible,” Trump said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will discuss a date for Trump’s postponed State of the Union address once the government is open.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was bested by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “No one should ever underestimate the speaker, as Donald Trump has learned.”
But Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said Trump has played it right.
“The shutdown was becoming a bigger distraction than the crisis on the border,” O’Connell said. Now, he said, Trump has three weeks to “make his case to the American people.”
“The Democrats say over and over they’re concerned about border security. The next three weeks we’re going to find out exactly how serious they are,” O’Connell said.
'Broken Man': Right Wing Rips Trump Over No-Wall Shutdown Deal
President Donald Trump’s deal to end the U.S. government shutdown without getting money for his border wall drew immediate scorn from some of the prominent conservative figures whose support may be crucial to his 2020 re-election bid.
Throughout the month-long standoff with congressional Democrats, Trump again and again asserted that he would not compromise on his demand for $5.7 billion to construct a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Friday, as federal government operations grew more disrupted, the president did just that.
Trump’s decision to agree to a short-term measure that funds the government through Feb. 15 came as opinion polls showed his job approval rating falling to some of the lowest levels of his tenure - and as some Democrats begin to mount candidacies to challenge his re-election.
Trump’s promise of a border wall was central to his 2016 campaign, and he viewed the standoff as a way to show supporters that he was trying to follow through.
Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist who is in regular contact with the White House, said Trump will be able to push for wall funding over the next three weeks without the distraction of a shutdown and that his supporters should wait to judge his efforts.
Trump also signaled on Friday that if he doesn’t get the result he wants, he may yet declare a national emergency and re-route federal monies to build the wall on his own.
“He might take a short-term hit but overall in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal as long as he is ultimately seen as committed to border security,” O’Connell told Reuters.
'Granite Strong': Trump's Base Rock-Solid On Shutdown, Blames Democrat Opposition
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s field office on Maryland’s Eastern Shore was closed because of the partial federal government shutdown when George Godfrey Jr. showed up Wednesday, leaving him without a reimbursement check for his grain crop losses.
Despite the setback, Mr. Godfrey didn’t waver in his support for President Trump. In fact, he said he was ready to hang tough indefinitely with Mr. Trump in the shutdown fight over border security.
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week found that 86 percent of Republican voters approve of Mr. Trump’s performance, up from 82 percent in December before the shutdown.
Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll, called the president’s base “granite strong.” He credited their loyalty with keeping Mr. Trump’s overall approval rating above 40 percent despite his poor showings on honesty, empathy, leadership and fitness to serve.
Republican Party strategist Ford O’Connell said the illegal immigration issue is what unites and energizes Mr. Trump’s supporters, which is why the crowds at campaign rallies in 2016 spontaneously broke out in chants of “Build the wall.”
“Most Republicans recognize that Democrats have no interest in getting a handle on illegal immigration. In fact, Democrats are doing their best to incentivize illegal immigration with the explosion of sanctuary cities across the country, driver’s licenses for illegals, free health care and even voting rights in some cases for illegal aliens,” Mr. O’Connell said.
“Republicans see the writing on the wall, and they recognize that Donald Trump is the last, best chance to get illegal immigration under control.”
Pelosi Pushes Trump To Put Off State Of The Union Amid Shutdown
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has disinvited President Trump from delivering the annual State of the Union address while the government is shut down, citing security problems — though the department of Homeland Security shot down her reasons for calling it off.
Pelosi asked Trump to postpone the planned Jan. 29 State of the Union speech, saying that with both the Secret Service and the Homeland Security Department entangled in the shutdown, the president should speak to Congress another time or he should deliver the address in writing.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen denied anyone’s safety is compromised, saying both agencies “are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”
Several Bay State pols sided with the House’s top Democrat, citing political reasons rather than security ones.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell said, “This is bare-knuckle partisan politics, period. Pelosi does not want to give Trump a platform to lay out his case for border security.”
The Constitution requires that a president periodically give a report on the state of the union to Congress, but it doesn’t go into much detail as to how. George Washington and John Adams, the country’s first two presidents, delivered it in person, but Thomas Jefferson gave it in writing only, and over the next century, other presidents followed suit. Woodrow Wilson brought the in-person delivery back in 1913 as a tactic to try to get his fiscal policy passed. Since then, presidents have built on that, using the platform in increasingly showy and often effective ways to state their political cases to the country, said Boston University professor and presidential historian Thomas Whalen.
Saturday Set To Mark Longest Gov't Shutdown In U.S. History
Saturday is set to mark the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, as the White House and Democrats in Congress remain at odds over the funding of a wall at the border with Mexico proposed by President Donald Trump to fend off immigrants.
Part of the U.S. federal government shuttered since Dec. 22 after the bill funding the government expired and U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to veto any spending bill that does not contain the 5.7 billion U.S. dollars he is demanding to fund a wall on the southern border.
Neither side seems willing to back down. The Democrats accuse the president of using the shutdown and border crisis to score political points, while Trump maintains it's a matter of national security.
Meanwhile, the White House is weighing the declaration of a national emergency -- a legal mechanism that would allow the president to use the military to build the wall. Experts said such a scenario may well end the government shutdown, although Trump indicated Friday that this would not happen immediately.
Republican Strategist and TV news personality Ford O'Connell said the stalemate could well run until the president's State-of-the-Union address in late January. It is possible by then for the president to declare the border crisis a national emergency citing a 1976 act on the proclamation of a national emergency.
"The White House wants to turn the shutdown into a larger argument about border security, and they feel if they can do that they can win," O'Connell said.
O'Connell said currently hundreds of miles of the borderland already have some sort of barrier, and noted that Trump merely wants to fund coverage of the last 300 miles of unguarded border territory.
