Deportation hysteria washes over America
This editorial originally appeared in the Baltimore Sun
Since Donald Trump’s election victory, the rhetoric over his hard line stance on immigration policies hasn’t cooled a bit. In a recent interview on “60 Minutes,” the president-elect vowed to deport or incarcerate as many as 3 million immigrants.
But what if for all the bluster and threats, the posturing and promises, a Trump administration pursues an immigration strategy not all that different from that of President Barack Obama? For a variety of reasons, that might be where he’s headed. Here’s why.
Often overlooked by Trump’s more virulent anti-immigrant supporters is that fact that the Obama administration has already set records for deportations. Since 2008, an estimated 2.7 million people have been deported by the federal government, with an emphasis on the very individuals Trump claims he wants to ship out — gang members, felons and other criminals.
Second is a simple lack of deportation infrastructure. Ever try to round up millions of people who don’t want to be caught? During the campaign, the Republican nominee spoke of a possible “deportation force,” but Republicans in Congress have already poo-pooed that idea. And it’s not just a lack of immigration agents — detaining suspects and litigating all those cases would pose a considerable challenge.
Yet even if a President Trump doesn’t hire a deportation force or build much of a wall, he’s already helped change the American culture — for the worse. Antiimmigrant sentiment is on the rise. Polls show American attitudes toward immigrants from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa are more negative than positive regardless of legal status.
Meanwhile, Trump’s attacks on the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, could depress the Mexican economy and motivate more people to enter the U.S. illegally. If all that sounds confusing, bingo, you’ve got it about right. Mass deportations are unlikely, but mass hysteria over a bogus immigration threat? That may be closer to what’s in store for the country.