Our view: Political theater at the U.S.-Mexico border
In the past three administrations, if a president needs to look tough on illegal immigration, he sends the National Guard to the Mexican border.
President George W. Bush did so in
2006. At the time, he was promoting a sweeping immigration overhaul that would have included a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented people in America. His move was designed in part to signal skeptics that he was serious about enforcement.
President Obama wanted to send a similar message with his deployment, beginning in 2010. He never did get a measure through the House of Representatives. But he would continue the program through most of his presidency in a vain hope that it, and relatively robust deportation policies, would mollify opposition to his executive orders on immigration.
Now it is President Trump’s turn. He announced a plan to send 2,000 to
4,000 troops after taking heat from conservatives for signing a spending bill that did not include funding for a border wall (you know, the one Mexico was supposed to pay for).
Deploying troops isn’t one of Trump’s worst acts. It’s just not particularly cost-effective or useful. Members of the National Guard are not able to make arrests, are not trained in immigration enforcement and — in some cases — do not particularly relish being called up, or away from training, to play a backup role. The two previous programs yielded modest results at best.
If more resources are needed, the proper response is to hire more Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But that, too, is a bit tricky. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security’s own inspector general said neither agency could adequately explain how it would use a proposed increase. Both agencies underwent massive expansions in the latter Bush and early Obama years, and have struggled ever since to attract and retain skilled agents.
What’s more, despite Trump’s scare talk about caravans coming through Mexico, the nature of illegal immigration has changed dramatically in recent years. The Pew Research Center estimates that the undocumented population in the USA dropped from 12.2 million in 2007 to 11.3 million in 2016. The decline would have been more dramatic had it not been for a robust business in people overstaying their visas.
Though administration officials point to this year’s large spring increase (a “surge” they call it), this comes after a 2017 that saw the smallest number of border arrests in 46 years.
Trump’s anti-immigrant posture undoubtedly played a role in last year’s totals, and there’s a place for improved physical barriers along some parts of the border as part of a comprehensive security plan.
But what will the president’s extra troops do, and why is he so fixated with the U.S.-Mexico border?
The best way to answer these questions is to see Trump’s move for what it is — political theater, rather than a bold policy initiative.