While President Trump may have been forced by public outcry to cease the separation of refugee children from their parents at the border, it doesn’t mean that he’s given up on attacking immigrants.
Yesterday, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent out a tweet reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was privately telling legislators that the separation policy may return once the public furor dies down.
Secretary Nielsen privately told lawmakers the Administration may go back to separating children from their parents. Congress must ensure that NEVER happens. I'm urging the House Appropriations Committee to prevent funds from ever being used to separate families entering the US: pic.twitter.com/JzZu58AUOf
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 21, 2018
Today, President Trump himself added credence to that story with the viciousness of his anti-immigrant rhetoric at what he labeled an URGENT speech on immigration.
“We’re gathered today to hear from the American victims of illegal immigration. You know, you hear the other side. You never hear this side. You don’t know what’s going on. These are the American citizens permanently separated from their loved ones… very unfair,” Trump began his fear-mongering.
Trump decided to parade “angel families” who have lost loved ones to crimes committed by immigrants on stage at his press conference, fully ignoring the fact that a March 2107 study by the Koch brothers-financed, libertarian-influenced Cato Institute found that:
“all immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than natives relative to their shares of the population” and that “even illegal immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans.”
After reading a series of statistics about crimes committed by immigrants that carefully avoided using percentages that would reveal the findings that the Cato Insitute discovered, findings that would undermine his own agenda of using fear as a method to push his misguided policies, Trump brought the “angel families” on stage to tell their stories and display poster-sized photos of their lost family members.
Trump is now giving family members of people who have been victims of crime committed by undocumented immigrants a chance to detail the crimes in grisly detail pic.twitter.com/QOLXyFEW1g
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 22, 2018
The whole press conference was eerily reminiscent of the practice Hitler employed during his rise to power of parading the victims of crimes committed by Jews in front of large crowds to imply all Jews were criminals.
Trump went on to announce the formation of an immigration crime office that would be tasked with tracking down convicted immigrants.
“We’re following these people. We’re following them, so it can’t happen again by that individual,” Trump declared, taking the next step in the establishment of a police state.
Trump on what the new immigration crime office he opened (VOICE) does with respect to convicted criminals: "We're following these people. We're following them, so it can't happen again by that individual." pic.twitter.com/NOUW7l2g8C
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 22, 2018
The president concluded his speech with a paranoid and racist attack on the diversity visa lottery program.
Trump closes w/comments on visa lottery process: "Other countries put their absolute worst in a bin & they start drawing people. You think they're gonna put their good ones? They don't put their good ones they put their bad ones. And then when they commit crimes we're surprised." pic.twitter.com/RpCzrromkR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 22, 2018
Trump’s attempt to frighten the U.S. public into accepting his negative views on immigration and drive the issue as a determining factor in the midterm elections demonstrates his desperation in trying to divert public attention away from the ever-tightening investigations into Russian collusion, obstruction of justice, and the many other corruption scandals that have plagued his administration.
By doubling down on his fear-mongering — even after the American public expressed its outrage at the horrifying pictures of immigrant toddlers held in cages and separated from their families — Trump is indicating that he won’t be stopped until a Democratic-controlled Congress is voted into office in November.
It’s our responsibility to ensure that that is exactly what happens. Register to vote now, if you’re not already registered, and make sure that you and everyone you know supports a blue wave this fall.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.