From Public Seminar, Sarah Sklaw on the pathology of zero tolerance: Trump administration and its treatment of immigrants. Immigration agents X-raying migrants to determine age isn’t just illegal, it’s a misuse of science. Matt Ford on the immigration forces beyond Trump’s control. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio: “Among young Latinx immigrants, after the Trump comments went viral, there was some radical reclaiming of the word ‘animal’ that piqued my interest”. The anti-immigration Bible: The problem with using the Bible to guide immigration policy is that the notion of “illegal immigrant” is a decidedly recent invention.
Jonathan Chait on the genesis of Trump’s family-separation policy. Trump doesn’t need to put families in detention centers to enforce his immigration policy — there are better options. White House aide Stephen Miller targeted in backlash over family separations. The absurdity of Kirstjen Nielsen and Stephen Miller eating at Mexican restaurants during an immigration crisis. The fight over family separations proved how broken Trump’s America really is. Chris Hayes: “Since I’m seeing a bunch of zombie takes about ‘How To Solve The Politics of Immigration’ today, a brief thread on my experience covering this issue the last 13 years”.
The pernicious myth of “open borders”: Trump is obsessed with a wild mischaracterization of the status quo that fuels extremism. Trump’s opponents aren’t arguing for “open borders” — but maybe they should. “Occupy ICE” protests emerge across the country. “Abolish ICE”, explained: The Left’s rallying cry is a repudiation of Trump’s immigration policy — and a challenge to Democrats. Democrats may be walking into an immigration trap.
In America, naturalized citizens no longer have an assumption of permanence. Trump advocates depriving undocumented immigrants of due-process rights. “If Trump can deny due process to those allegedly here unlawfully, ICE can grab YOU, allege you aren’t a citizen & deport you w/out a hearing” (and more).
