Can the world can survive eight years of the “Racist-in-Chief?”
If Democratic leaders make a deal with President Donald J. Trump on his “s—hole” border wall, they will secure his re-election in 2020. (Here, I’m borrowing a word, “s—hole” or “shithole,” from the self-proclaimed “stable genius” in the White House.)
Eight years of a disastrous Trump administration is not acceptable! Neither the United States nor the world can survive eight years of the “Racist-in-Chief” and “Hustler-in-Chief.”
It appears that Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation represents our only hope to impeach Trump or force him to resign like former President Richard M. Nixon. And while he’s at it, Mueller shouldn’t forget about Vice President Mike Pence—a more polished bigot. No pressure, Mr. Mueller!
Regarding funding for his “s—hole” wall, let’s not forget that Trump, during his presidential campaign, guaranteed his rabid supporters that Mexico will pay for it. When Mexican leaders rebuked his lie or white-nationalist fantasy, Trump, in a GOP primary debate on CNN (February 25, 2016), responded with a false sense of indignity: “The wall just got ten feet higher.”
If Trump was partly (or mostly) elected on the promise (or racist premise) to keep more brown people (and Muslims) from entering the United States, then, why are Democratic leaders negotiating with Trump on funding his “s—hole”? According to The Washington Post (January 20, 2018), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), originally offered Trump funding for the “s—hole” wall in exchange for Trump’s support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez now says he’ll support the building of Trump’s wall.
It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that even Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL)—as an advocate of immigrants in Congress—also offered to support Trump’s “s—hole” wall in exchange for DACA. According to Gutiérrez, in a CNN interview (January 20, 2018), in order to help DACA recipients or DREAMers, he’s willing to “go down there with bricks and mortar and begin the wall.”
What’s wrong with Schumer and Gutierrez? Don’t they understand that if Trump secures billions of dollars for his “s—hole” wall—his signature campaign promise, where Mexico would supposedly pay for—he’ll be re-elected in 2020, as noted above.
As I’ve argued in my last op-ed, “Demanding a Clean DACA Bill, Now!,” Trump manufactured a crisis among DACA recipients when he announced (on September 5, 2017) the end of former-President Barack “Deporter-in-Chief” Obama’s executed order, providing temporary relief from deportation and work permits for an estimated 800,000 undocumented youth. As the “Hustler-in-Chief,” Trump is now using DACA as a bargaining chip to secure his “s—hole” wall.
Now that Schumer has come to his senses (or was pressured to) by withdrawing his support for Trump’s “s—hole” wall—after caving on the recent, 3-day government shutdown—the Senate Minority Leader and his colleagues in the Senate and House must unite and stand firm against the “Racist-in-Chief” and complicit Republican leaders on passing a clean DACA bill.
Rep. Charles Schumer and other democrats must stand firm in defense of the DACA dreamers.
Like Republican leaders, Democratic leaders must be on the same page and use the same talking points in making their case or framing their argument for DACA in particular and immigration reform in general. For instance, in making their case, Republican leaders are advancing a xenophobic and an enforcement-only immigration agenda by ending the diversity visa lottery program, terminating/limiting family-reunification (so-called “chain migration”), securing funding for the “s—hole” wall and other draconian measures, like E-Verify.
To counter these extreme positions, Democratic leaders should forcefully argue that Trump and the complicit, morally bankrupt Republican leaders don’t want anymore brown or black people migrating to this country. For example, during a White House-led meeting (January 11, 2018), when inquiring about immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and African countries, Trump revealed his true intentions or motives behind his thinking (assuming he thinks for himself) on immigration policies: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”
To get on the offensive, Democratic leaders should publicly (and repeatedly) ask Trump and complicit Republican leaders if they would support the visa lottery program, family reunification policy and DACA program if it only applied to immigrants from European countries, like Norway?
It’s a false dichotomy to view immigrants as either “good immigrants” or “bad immigrants.”
In terms of advancing their own immigration policies and programs, Democratic leaders must be on the same playbook and (re)frame the current immigration debate based on just and humane principles. This means that no human being is “illegal.” This means that we must value diversity. This means that we must build bridges versus walls. This means that we must advocate for unity versus division.
Moreover, in defending immigrants, Democratic leaders must reject false dichotomies on immigration, such as the “good immigrant” versus the “bad immigrant” paradigm. For example, in the case of DACA, undocumented youth represent “good immigrants” (e.g., “arrived in this country at no faulty of their own”) and their parents symbolize “bad immigrants” (e.g., “so-called law breakers who must be punished”).
Enough with this nonsense!
To be better equipped—strategically and intellectually—to challenge Trump and Republican leaders, it behooves Democratic leaders to read Dr. George Lackoff’s brilliant book on values and frames: The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate. They should also read Dr. Michael Dear’s excellent book against border walls: Why Walls Won’t Work: Repairing the US-Mexico Divide. On a related topic, Dr. Dear also published an insightful op-ed, “Mr. President, Tear Down This Wall,” in The New York Times (March 10, 2013). Speaking of walls, Democratic leaders should also view Dr. Bridget Anderson’s inspiring TEDx talk (September 22, 2011): “Imagining a World Without Borders.” Finally, apart for my book, Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm, I highly recommend my TEDx talk: “Migration as a Universal Human Right.”
To conclude, while Democratic leaders must redeem themselves on the question of immigration—based on their inhumane record of supporting draconian policies and programs—it’s incumbent on all of us who believe in just and humane immigration reform to advocate for and collaborate with those living and working in the shadows of society.
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Copyright 2018 by Dr. Alvaro Huerta. Dr. Alvaro Huerta is an assistant professor of urban and regional planning and ethnic and women’s studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is the author of Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm, (San Diego State University Press, 2013). He holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley. He also holds an M.A. in urban planning and a B.A. in history—both from UCLA. All photos in this blog are in the public domain.