Talking points
Why Trump called in the troops
Let’s all take a step back and think about the “vertiginous absurdity” of this moment, said David Roberts in Vox.com. President Trump has deployed more than 5,000 U.S. troops on American soil at the Mexican border, in an attempt to drum up hysteria over a caravan of 4,000 Central American migrants who are fleeing druggang violence and poverty. U.S. troops can’t be used for domestic law enforcement, so they will have no contact with the migrants; instead, the Pentagon says, they’ll be providing logistical “support” for the U.S. Border Patrol, such as maintenance work. Nevertheless, Trump says that he could ultimately send as many as 15,000 troops, which would be more than the number of Americans stationed in Afghanistan. The caravan, still weeks away from reaching the border, has shrunk from 7,000 to 4,000 people, and continues to dwindle. Those who make it here plan to legally apply for asylum. “Where is the emergency?”
Why is it “suddenly cynical” for a president to take a major immigration action before a big election? asked Eddie Scarry in Washington Examiner.com. In the summer of 2012, President Obama issued an executive order to protect more than a million young illegal immigrants known as “Dreamers” from being deported. Obama clearly hoped his order would improve his standing with Latino voters, but the media didn’t react with the “hysteria that Trump faces.” The caravan presents a real challenge to our immigration policy, said Noah Rothman in CommentaryMagazine .com. But even so, “there is no strategic justification for these deployments.” When a similar caravan reached the U.S. in April, only a few hundred migrants were left, and they peacefully applied for asylum at a checkpoint. Trump has “wildly exaggerated the threat.”
This may be “reality television for Trump,” said Rex Huppke in the Chicago Tribune. “But it’s real life for the soldiers.” Every military operation entails hardship and risk. “Vehicles crash. Soldiers get injured operating heavy machinery. There’s psychological distress, illness, and heat exhaustion.” Over a recent 12-year period, nearly 4,600 active-duty personnel were killed in accidents. Soldiers and their families bravely accept these risks, but the commander in chief should not to ask them to sacrifice for no reason. Instead, Trump is “treating men and women who have volunteered to fight and die for this country like toy soldiers.”