The false 'invasion' of immigrants
True to form and as the main spokesman for the demagoguery of his Republican Party, former President Donald Trump said at a rally in Michigan this weekend that the elimination of Title 42 will result in the “invasion” of the United States by between “10 and 12 million” undocumented.
His exaggeration, of course, is the electoral food that his faithful followers need to feel again that they can not only once again cheer a lie, but also consolidate a false campaign that brings their hollow leader back to power. “We are being invaded by millions and millions of people,” Trump said. “We will be inundated by illegal immigration.”
The elimination as of May 23 of the policy implemented by Trump to prevent asylum seekers from doing so in the United States, using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse, is already generating the expected response from Republicans, who see an opening to exploit, once again, the migratory issue for partisan political purposes in the year of mid-term elections. This, despite the fact that while it worked for them in the Trump era, it did not help them at all to scapegoat immigrants four years later, when they failed resoundingly by losing the White House, due to the majority of voters being fed up with the GOP’S xenophobic and anti-immigrant profile.
But Republicans are joined by some moderate and conservative Democrats facing close re-elections in November and, as always, the easy way out is to decry an “uncontrolled” border.
In the first place, the idea that between 10 and 12 million undocumented immigrants will “invade” the United States due to the end of Title 42 is a fallacy. If we go to figures, Title 42, since it was implemented two years ago, has removed approximately 1.7 million undocumented immigrants who have tried to apply for asylum. And that is emphasized, “attempted,” because what it is about is exercising a right, regardless of whether the answer is negative. We repeat, not everyone achieves asylum, as Trump and his followers now want to make us see with that “invasion” that only exists in their heads and in their most anti-immigrant nightmares.
Likewise, although Republicans accuse Biden of promoting “open borders,” the reality is that during the Democratic administration, most of the intercepted migrants have been deported, removed or detained.
Indeed, 80% of the people who have been apprehended at the border during the Biden administration have been removed from the country, which automatically refutes the Republican position that there is no control and that an “invasion” is taking place. In addition, almost 60,000 deportations were carried out during fiscal year 2021, of the almost 75,000 arrests that occurred in that period, 28% less than in 2020.
Arrests and deportations, on the other hand, have focused on cases of those who have committed serious crimes and are detected, whose figure in 2021 reached more than 12,000, almost 50% more than in 2020, when said number only reached 6,815.
In addition, Title 42 was implemented to prevent the entry of migrants due to the pandemic, but in reality it was intended to stop the entry of foreigners who were legally seeking asylum. Not even the health authorities were sure of the need for such a public policy. In other words, the Trump administration took advantage of the public health situation to restrict asylum seekers, not only to demonstrate the type of power it had, but the true racial intentions that emanated from its anti-immigrant policies.
As we have said previously in this space, in immigration matters the Republicans' problems continue to be prejudice, xenophobia, demagoguery and obstructionism. And that of the Democrats is still the fear of the Republicans. (America’s Voice)