Trump and DeSantis: Republicans again point their guns at migrants

This is not deja vu. Former President Donald Trump, the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and 2024 presidential contender, has reiterated his intention to issue an executive order to deny automatic US citizenship to children born in the United States to undocumented parents, which is protected 14- and amendment to the Constitution. He said it in 2015, in 2018, and he says it now because immigrants, documented or undocumented, continue to be his favorite political and campaign target.

And they are his main target, because immigrants, especially people of color and from poor countries, are always in a vulnerable position, which is an attractive aspect for minority bullies like the former president and those who continue to praise his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Which does not happen, of course, when it comes to people of power and moneythat Trump has praised, even if their regimes are accused of violating human rights. Duterte, Putin, Abdulfatah el-Sisi, Hun Sen sound familiar?

To be honest, this is not at all surprising. We already know who Trump is and what he gives. But what is outrageous is that the Republican Party, after the bloody trail that extremism and xenophobia left and continue to leave in this country, decided that its face, its message and its election strategy will be precisely this extremism and xenophobia.

What he doesn’t seem to realize is that if this type of campaign of hate and racism has been taught, it’s that in the end they don’t have permanent success, so that they are diluted with the American national consciousness, which for luck is in the majority and always strives to be on the right side of history, accepting rather than rejecting, welcoming immigrants.

And while Trump continues to be the party’s central and dominant figure for now, the anti-immigrant strategy isn’t his exclusive, as he has several mini-me’s, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who just passed the toughest anti-immigrant law in the United States. . The measure goes into effect on July 1, but is already causing fear among the population of Florida and not only among illegal immigrants, as there are families with a mixed immigration situation that can get into trouble due to transportation and assistance to illegal immigrants. This affects various industries such as agriculture and construction, and right now automotive and ultimately affect tourism; and it even affects non-governmental organizations that help the unregistered.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is another Trump national who has declared all-out war against undocumented individuals and has used the border as one of his favorite weapons to attack and stigmatize the government of Democratic President Joe Biden. as inefficient management of the border strip.

But his influence is still not that great, and in any case he lacks originality, although he is a racist and anti-immigrant, because if he really wanted to win the Republican nomination, he would appeal to the vote of another Republican sector, already fed. with how his party is vilified by the most extreme conservatives in the United States. Fighting for the same vote – anti-immigrant and xenophobic – makes Trump and DeSantis the crooks of modern Republican politics.

Even the Republican-majority House of Representatives is swarming with Trump supporters ready to advance his anti-immigrant agenda, as evidenced by the passing of HR 2, which focuses on border control measures and undermining asylum laws. And Trump’s top supporter is House President Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who has signaled that the body will not consider any measures that benefit undocumented individuals.

Because the reality is that the frontal attack of the Republicans is not only against the unregistered. This is really against migration and at the same time against the inclusive and compassionate America that this nation has become even before the civil rights struggle in the last century. The battle for Section 42 has shown that asylum seekers are not welcome either, and while Republicans say they love “legality,” they seem to care that there are 11 million undocumented people in the country doing important work, with no light at the end. tunnel to achieve its regularization.

If anything is clear, it is that in the course of the 2024 presidential campaign, Republicans, lacking additional political resources of true historical significance for the common good, will once again turn their weapons against their favorite target: immigrants.