Immigration Racism

“We’re going to have nothing at all.”

Written by SK Ashby

On any given day I wouldn't ordinarily take Trump's words at face value because he often contradicts himself from one sentence to the next, but in this case I think he may have made up his mind.

Trump spoke at the GOP's retreat in West Virginia today where he said Congress will either pass his white supremacist immigration proposal or "we’re going to have nothing at all." He also dismissed the entire concept of young immigrants aspiring to live the American Dream.

“It’s a strong bill, but it’s a very fair bill,” he said, though no such bill currently exists other than a one-page “framework” released last week. Trump then suggested he would veto any alternative that comes his way. “We’ll either have something that’s fair and equitable and good and secure, or we’re going to have nothing at all.” [...]

On Thursday, he further fanned the flames by telling GOP lawmakers not to think of DACA recipients as “Dreamers,” the term the young immigrants have used to identify themselves as aspiring Americans. “Don’t fall into the trap,” he said, wagging his finger from the podium. “We have dreamers in this country, too. We can’t forget our dreamers.”

“I have a lot of dreamers here,” he added, gesturing to the audience mainly comprised of older, white lawmakers.

In the past it may have been heretical for a Republican or any other politician to stand up and say the American Dream is not for everyone; that it's an exclusive club that only belongs to a select few. But this is the age of Trump and, in Trump's case, the club is exclusively white.

For all their talk about cultural "assimilation" and other similar buzzwords, the truth is Republicans don't want to see brown people assimilate and become legal Americans. They don't really want to protect Dreamers. They don't want to create a pathway to citizenship for people who want to become Americans.

Trump's framework, which at least has the support of House Republicans, would cut legal immigration by 50 percent and break families apart by ending family sponsorship. Trump refers to this as "chain migration," but that's just a buzzword for a policy that keeps families together.

Remember families? Family values?

It is my impression that if the choice is between renewing DACA and cutting all legal immigration by 50 percent, most Dreamers would not be willing to hurt others to save themselves.

It's important that Democrats, Dreamers, and other immigration activists get on the same page and agree to what is and is not acceptable because Republicans won't lose a minute of sleep over any of this.

I believe DACA's best hope for survival this year is in court, not in this Republican-controlled Congress. It may not even matter if Trump has truly made up his mind because it's possible Congress isn't even capable of passing an immigration bill let alone a bill that Trump would be willing to sign.