People’s plight becomes political football
Both sides blame the other for immigration woes
The U.S.-bound migrant caravan stuck at the Mexican border is raising security concerns and causing political fallout among state and federal officials. While Whitman state Rep. Geoff Diehl said the crisis with the caravan shouldn’t be the center of any political play, President Trump pointed to Democratic opposition, tweeting yesterday, “If the Democrats would stop being obstructionists and come together, we could write up and agree to new immigration laws in less than one hour. Look at the needless pain and suffering that they are causing. Look at the horrors taking place on the Border. Chuck & Nancy, call me!” Diehl, who is running to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, called for tighter border security. “I think this has been a recurring problem that stems from an unsecure border, that should have been fixed years ago,” said Diehl. “Mexico needs to stop this before it escalates and becomes dangerous.” Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who has been a big supporter of the U.S. border wall, said the migrants pose a “serious threat” to Massachusetts residents as the state is often presented as a sanctuary. “We have nowhere to put these people, we can’t sustain it,” said Hodgson, who outlined risks such as MS-13 and drug cartel activity, violence, crime and illness. His answer to security issues is to “build the wall.” Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration studies said the migrants are not gang members and “we should have sympathy towards them,” but security threats are a reality. Vaughan said a firm response to border-crossings now will set the stage for long-term policy changes in the future. Matthew Cameron, an immigration attorney from East Boston, said the migrants are not dangerous and their negative portrayal falls on the president. “It’s very unfortunate that Trump has portrayed them as gang members and killers,” Cameron said. He told the Herald that refugees are not violent, saying, “Refugees give back. When they come to the country they always give back more than what they take.” In a series of tweets on Thursday, President Trump threatened to take military action if Mexican officials fail to stem the tide, “In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught — and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!..” According to a 2017 Gallup poll, 45 percent of respondents said immigrants in the United States are making crime worse and 43 percent said immigrants do not have much effect on crime. The remaining 12 percent had no opinion. In a June 28 poll, 75 percent of respondents said immigration was a good thing for the country while 19 percent said it was a bad thing and the remaining six percent had no opinion.